Tag Archives: An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar

THE IDA hosted 28 in-person and remote visits to Limerick for the first six months of this year compared to 12 in Clare, new figures have revealed. Deputy Michael McNamara recently asked the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to break down the number of site visits hosted by the IDA in counties Galway, Clare and Limerick this year. A new survey has also found the total employment in IDA supported industries increased by 13.9% in the Mid-West compared to 15.2% in Dublin and 63% in the South East from 2012 to 2021. What was also worrying was the Mid-West recorded one of the lowest increases in employment in IDA firms of just 2.6% from 2020 to 2021. This was in contrast to the South-West, which enjoyed a hike of 10.8%, the Mid-East 8.4%, the South-East 4% and Dublin 5.3%. Acknowledging the disparity between the number of IDA visits in Clare and Limerick, Deputy McNamara pointed out there has been a number of …

TÁINAISTE Leo Varadkar has been urged to address chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) when he takes over from Micheál Martin as Taoiseach. Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Michael McNamara stated almost every day of the lifetime of this Government University Hospital Limerick, (UHL) has been the most overcrowded hospital in the country. “Of the 676 beds we were told would be required at the time of reconfiguration, more than one third have yet to materialise. As Head of Government, what will the Tánaiste do differently? “The current Taoiseach has said it is a matter for the HSE, even though the HSE is not improving the situation? “What will the Tánaiste do differently to ensure UHL is no longer providing a different level of healthcare from the rest of the country?,” he asked. Minister Varadkar said he knows UHL well and has visited it several times. “As Taoiseach and Minister for Health previously, I did my best to ensure …

TÁNAISTE Leo Varadkar was in Shannon last week for the official opening of the Future Mobility Campus Ireland in the Free Zone. It’s the country’s first full-scale development centre and test-bed for mobility technologies. In essence the facility exists to work on the development of driverless cars, air taxis and drones, as well as the air traffic technology to manage them. Addressing the attendance on the day Mr Varadkar spoke about the development of Ardnacrusha, and how that shows a history of innovation and vision in Clare, while he also spoke about the county’s future. “I think that first Government showed really enormous vision in making that decision, making that bet for Ireland that turned out to be the right one. “That was followed up by other innovations in this region, Shannon Airport, Duty Free and of course the Shannon Free Zone where we are now. This region has always been at the forefront of industrial innovation and that should …

Three Ireland is to expand operations at its Limerick customer experience centre, with the creation of 175 new jobs over the next four years as the Irish office begins to export services to Three UK business customers for the first time. The 175 new jobs will include both full time and part time positions and openings across a range of job titles and experience levels in the B2B sector. The employment opportunities will range from Customer Care, Team Leaders, Operations and Management. The Limerick customer experience centre has a strong history in Castletroy, originally established over 20 years ago and currently employing close to 400 people. Given the skills, expertise and talent in the Limerick centre, it is well placed to advise international clients across a broad range of connectivity services including IoT, ICT products and cost management. The expansion to support business customers in the UK market is the realisation of a key strategic objective for the team in …

Students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon have taken Second prize in the Junior Category at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. The winning students Bríd-Áine Rouine, Áine Hennigan and Eimear Lernihan, all 13 years old, who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Caitríona Hynes were awarded for their BEA Body Scrubs. BEA Scrubs produce eco-friendly body scrubs. Their ethos is based on the circular economy, they use bi-product from coffee granules sourced from a local coffee shop and use this product as the core ingredient for their scrubs. The students also enjoyed the support of the Local Enterprise Office in Clare. The scrubs are made from 100% sustainable and by-products as ingredients and are sold to customers, locally, regionally and nationally. The coffee granules are purchased from local coffee distributor Anam Coffee.   The Finals of the Local Enterprise Office initiative were held physically for the first time in three years at the Helix in Dublin with An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and host …

Area to the east of Ennis identified as ideal to bring long term increased resilience to climate change THE Ennis 2040 Economic and Spatial Strategy states that Ennis could be Ireland’s first climate adaptive town. The document, launched last Friday by An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, states that the town does have some advantages in this respect. “Ennis is fortunate in having a large area east of the town centre that could, if planned for properly, bring long term benefits and increased resilience to climate change effects,” the document states. “This area relates to the eastern lands between the railway and the M18 motorway. This area includes the River Fergus and its floodplains as well as a network of smaller streams, wetlands and small lakes. “Large extents of this area have been identified as Flood Zone A, in line with the Flood Risk Management Guidelines. “Ennis could be a national leader in demonstrating this approach, by optimising these lands for climate …