New investment in Shannon Free Zone

MINISTER Batt O’Keeffe will be in Shannon on Friday morning to announce a new investment in the Shannon Free Zone but at the time of writing, few details are available about what it will entail.
While informed sources have said that the news will be significant, neither Shannon Development nor the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation will give an indication of how many jobs might be delivered or in what sector the investment will be in. However, there is speculation that it will involve the expansion of a company already based in the Shannon Free Zone.
A number of local political figures have also said that they are in the dark with regard to what the Minister will announce but Deputy Timmy Dooley said he is pleased that Minister O’Keeffe is coming to Clare.
“Obviously, I would welcome the visit and I’m looking forward to some positive news being announced,” he said.
There was a small jobs boost on Tuesday, when Sky Handling Partner announced it has created another six jobs at Shannon. It has also created 44 jobs at Dublin Airport.
The company’s managing director, Darren Moloney said the outlook for the ground handling industry has shown some signs of stability after a difficult start to 2010. He also said the Aer Arann/Aer Lingus deal, which has seen the commencement of flights from Shannon to Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester, has been a welcome boost.
“The volume of flights scheduled for the summer at Dublin Airport has increased 10 to 12% on last year and Aer Arann’s deal to operate some of Aer Lingus’ regional flights has also boosted business for us. So we are pleased to be playing a part in supporting the local economy through job creation, given the difficulties faced earlier in the year, particularly due to the widespread disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud.”
Live Register figures for the month of June showed a slight increase in the numbers signing on in Clare.
From 10,290 in May, the figure increased to 10,379. The number signing on in Ennis went from 5,908 to 5,973; in Kilrush the number went from 1,428 to 1,441 and in Tulla it increased from 1,426 to 1,452. There was a slight decrease in Ennistymon, the numbers down from 1,528 to 1,513.