ALMOST €5 million has been allocated to four projects that will have a significant effect on job creation and social development initiatives in Clare over the coming years, according to Fine Gael TD Joe Carey.
Deputy Carey, who is Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development, said he was delighted that Clare had secured the biggest share of the €29 million that was made available to 21 projects under the Government’s Regional Enterprise Development Fund.
€1,759,226 has been allocated for the development of the Clare Maritime Economic Zone at Cahercon on the Shannon Estuary to re-purpose an existing site to provide maritime and cruise liner related training as well as serving as a testing ground for renewable technologies.
Stating that the development of the Clare Maritime Economic Zone would tap in to the county’s tradition of marine-related enterprise, Deputy Carey said that it would include the development of classrooms and training facilities for the cruise liner industry, along with the development of a field research centre. This would involve LIT and GMIT providing a testing ground for renewable technologies.
“Operated by Clare County Council in partnership with Flagship Maritime Consultants and the National Maritime College of Ireland, this is a strategically important project in terms of national economic development. There is potential for high regional impact and the project proposes to leverage an existing asset in an employment blackspot,” Deputy Carey explained.
The biggest single allocation of €2,279,073 will go towards the development of a Digital Collaboration Centre to position the Mid-West region as a hub for disruptive technology innovation.
The Burren Lowlands project will receive €182,786 to develop an enterprise support platform to drive business networking, remote working and entrepreneurship development. The project will create a focus point for enterprise activities in a rural setting, aimed at the creation and attraction of alternative employment opportunities.
The BNest Social Initiative, which operates in Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Cork and Kerry, has secured €603,400 to help businesses with significant potential for societal impact to operate as commercial entities
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.