Minister hopes Mid-West will lead the way to recovery

THE success of a cohesive economic plan to create jobs in Clare and the Mid-West will depend on the full backing of all the relevant interests, according to the newly-appointed Minister for Defence, Tony Killeen.
Minister Killeen has called for a return to the ideals first promoted by the Shannon Status campaign back in the early ’90s to ensure that the Mid-West leads the way in the drive for a national economic recovery.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, the minister revealed that one of his main aims during his term in Cabinet is to unify all the political, business, community, third-level institutions and the voluntary sector under the banner of promoting enterprise and innovation.
Acknowledging there will always be some level of disagreement among interest groups, he stressed that a lot of positive developments for Clare would flow if this can be achieved.
“What is critical is whether we want to be one of the regions which follows or the lead region in a national recovery. In so far as I will be seen as the Mid-West minister, I will make sure the Mid-West is higher up in being an innovation leader.
“While foreign direct investment will continue to play a key role, I think it is important to promote small and medium-sized enterprises by getting the banking sector back on track and getting our national finances under control to restore competitiveness.
“The Mid-West has a highly qualified workforce, which have an international reputation and we have a tendency to undersell ourselves. I believe the Shannon Region has the capacity to face different challenges once everyone is facing in the one direction with a common goal,” he said.
He said that he would like to see a return to where Ennis has a strong industrial base, the Shannon Industrial Estate is revitalised and there are a cluster of small enterprises in Kilrush, Ennistymon, Killaloe and other towns.
Commenting on calls for autonomy for Shannon Airport and the growth of Cork Airport, the former council chairman admitted he would be largely guided by the advice of the Shannon Airport Authority, as it has access to all the relevant figures.
“You can’t make a definitive judgement until you know all the costs and the income stream for the airport. We tend to eulogise about a golden era in Shannon Airport but when you look back at the late ’80s, passenger numbers were about half of the current numbers.
“I think it would be ill-advised to try and seek parity with Cork Airport. Cork has a much larger population and has no competition compared to Shannon, which has Farranfore and Galway to compete with. It has taken a long time for Cork to come on a par with Shannon. Shannon has some advantages over Cork and some disadvantages compared with Dublin. Shannon must work on its strengths, such as the pre-clearance facility, and try to increase its own catchment area and also attract more visitors and tourists to use the airport,” he said.