A FREIGHT yard at Ennis Rail Station should be used to provide tourist and student accommodation, helping to alleviate a “critical” shortage of accommodation in the county.

That’s according to Councillor Johnny Flynn who believes the freight yard situated at a transport hub with the national rail and bus network could attract students commuting to neighbouring counties during term time, while opening up to tourists in the summer.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District he urged that discussions take place with Clare County Council’s Tourism department, Irish Rail, third level institutes in the Mid West and Failte Ireland to investigate the possibility.

The councillor stated that the Clare County Council Tourism Strategy identifies “deficiencies” in Clare tourism offering “including a serious defect in tourist accommodation beds both in Ennis and Clare”. It also identifies poor transport links within the county to countywide tourism attractions in West, North and East Clare, he said.

Making the case for tourism accommodation to be developed at the freight yard he said Clare “doesn’t get it’s fair share” when it comes to tourism spend and bed nights.

“Clare provides a lot of attractions, but there is a lack of connectivity and public transport and a serious lack of accommodation.”

He added that third level institutions in Galway and Limerick are reporting a “crisis” in student accommodation, with Ennis an ideal hub for students to live in and commute from.

Councillor Paul Murphy voiced support for the motion saying, “Having a fair and balanced tourism strategy is key for the county” and he acknowledged the work of the tourism sector of Clare County Council.

While Councillor Mary Howard said she agreed with the spirit of the motion, she voiced caution that students may not want to travel from Ennis.

“Galway suffers problems with accommodation and they tried to organise it in Oranmore, and it wasn’t taken up. Students want to be in Galway, where the action is and they are not interested in commuting.”

Responding to the motion, Deirdre O’Shea, acting head of tourism with the local authority stated the Tourism Department of Clare County Council is currently working with Fáilte Ireland on the development of an up-to-date accommodation audit information report.

The report will focus on approved accommodation stock, taking into account the Clare Tourism Strategy 2030 and all relevant strategies and plans for the County.

“The main focus of the report will be to establish the demand drivers and opportunities for provision / increase of overnight accommodation.

“The suggestion to increase the capacity of student accommodation is welcome and will be included in this audit as the process is currently in research stage.

“In relation to transport management, this key objective is highlighted under the Burren Visitor Experience Development Plan, as well as being a strategic priority of the Clare Tourism Strategy 2030. Traffic and transportation solutions will also form part of the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040.”

There is a specific strategic objective to identify and implement appropriate traffic management initiatives that will support the implementation of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Experience Development Plan, she outlined.

A North Clare public information meeting was held in March to engage with key local stakeholders.

“All feedback has been received and key themes of the challenges are emerging.”

The next step is to identify what actions are in progress, can be fed into a pipeline of projects going forward and identify and to address challenges and resolutions.

“Working on a cross directorate basis and collaboratively with State Agencies, this specific strategic priority of the Clare Tourism Strategy has been initiated and a dedicated commitment will be given to working on this with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

“In this regard, the Tourism Department welcomes all such input from Ennis Municipal District.”

Councillor Flynn welcomed the response and the analysis of accommodation in the county. He added that utilising the freight yard for the provision of tourist and student accommodation would result in a “double whammy” of benefit.

“We all know the accommodation shortage in the county is critical, we need to get low and medium cost accommodation.” Leonore O’Neil, senior executive officer stated that a lot of work is being done by the council in examining transport and accommodation.