KEATING are still expected to complete the new county library building, this week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard.
There is much speculation about the future of the West Clare based construction outfit and at the meeting, Councillor Pat Daly said there is a lot of concern that work on the site of the new library, being developed at a cost of some €14 million, has stopped.
Clare County Council chief executive Pat Dowling said there is “no doubt we will complete the new library building as soon as possible”. He said there had been communication with the operations director of the company, who said that Keating are currently engaging with their suppliers and subcontractors, while Mr Dowling said the council would be informed immediately if there is any change.
He added that if there is a problem, the council will “deal with it as it arises” and an “alternative route” will be found if required.
On being asked what time lapse would be imposed if Keatings are no longer in a position to complete the work, Mr Dowling said it could add another 12 months onto the project but he said he was really just speculating.
It is understood that up until recently, Keating had been employing almost 150 people. Recent attempts to contact the company for comment have proven unsuccessful.
The most recent set of accounts for the company show that it had combined profits of €10m between 2017 and 2018, while there were plans to diversify geographically, in part to mitigate risk.
Work on the 2,321m2 new library building on the glór site commenced on January 6. As work commenced, Clare County Council claimed that, “The state-of-the-art new build development will provide a key resource for research, study, recreation and art in a centralised location adjacent to the well-established glór theatre. “The project represents an important investment in an accessible and modern library service for the people of Clare and visitors to the county.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.