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Tag Archives: industry

Workers leaving Shannon company Avara

IT is understood that 17 workers are leaving Shannon company Avara today, as it winds down. While efforts to secure a buyer have been ongoing none has been secured and as it stands the last of the workers will leave the company in October. One of those leaving said it is very disappointing to see the company on the way out.”It’s a devastating day, it’s the second pharmaceutical in the Mid West region to go. It got an investment of €170 million less than ten years ago, to see it being wound down is devastating for the workforce here.” He feels that more should have been done to find a new owner.”We had hoped to find a buyer for the plant but it doesn’t seem to have happened. I would think if it was Cork or Dublin there would be politicians all over this. This is another kick to the Shannon region.” Owen Ryan

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Concern over chemicals at Avara plant

WITH Shannon company Avara in provisional liquidation, local county councillor Mike McKee has raised concerns about public safety, given the chemicals stored there and about the level of redundancy being offered to departing workers. On Wednesday, Councillor McKee said, “My understanding is that they are going to keep a skeleton staff there, due to the fact that there are materials in the plant. The materials in the plant are quite significant and could be construed as quite dangerous chemicals. One has to question are the company being responsible on this because of the seriousness of the raw products that are in situ in the plant. They would be left on their own with just a handful of people monitoring them. I do know for a fact that the chemicals are not the most stable.” He questioned if the people currently charged with running the company, as a buyer is sought, are aware of some of the incidents that have happened there …

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Shannon Group CEO announces departure

LESS than three years after he arrived, Matthew Thomas is leaving his role as CEO of Shannon Group. He is set to take up a new position as CEO of the Ports of Jersey. Shannon Group Deputy CEO Mary Considine will take on the role of Acting CEO of Shannon Group after his departure in June. Since his arrival in mid 2016 Shannon Airport’s passenger numbers have increased, but the level of growth has been very moderate, reaching just 1.86 million last year. While this was an increase of 6.5% on 2017, it is not much more than half the numbers which used Shannon during the Celtic Tiger years, and the Clare airport’s growth was eclipsed by the increasing dominance of Dublin. Shannon is now way off the targets that were set for it as it separated from the Dublin Airport Authority at the start of 2013. On the industrial side, during Mr Thomas’ tenure there was significant investment in …

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Clare to gain from PRSI reforms

The PRSI reforms announced by Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar, will benefit small business in Clare, is has been stated. “Small businesses and the self employed sector are the back bone of our economy and are particularly essential in the future economic stability of rural Ireland, accordinig to Minister for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen. “These tax equalisation measures will ensure that if a self-employed person’s business experiences a bad year or a few bad years and they don’t pay PRSI in those years, they can now protect or improve their right to a contributory State pension, and a pension for their spouse or child’s guardian should they die prematurely,” added the Care deputy. “This Government continues to support growing small businesses and promoting job creation, at a time when we see a 12.7 per cent decline in the live register figures here in Clare since this time last year. “The Fine Gael TD said the new PRSI …

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Lynch seeks better use of Shannon Estuary

COUNCILLOR Ian Lynch has hit out at a lack of investment in Clare and a failure to make proper use of the Shannon Estuary. In a letter to Deputy Pat Breen, Councillor Lynch stated, “I see a recent announcement that the Government is seeking preclearance for freight from the port of Limerick, making the port of Foynes a shipping hub for Europe. “While the announcement is a welcome one for the region, it again shows the Government’s lack of commitment to County Clare and long-term foresight to maximise the Shannon Estuary’s potential. It’s hard to imagine why the Government would limit such a positive prospect to a port that is restricted for vessel turnaround and draft. This is even harder to imagine when the Shannon Foynes Port Authority controls the shipping to the second-deepest water port in Europe at Moneypoint but yet it remains undeveloped.” He feels the estuary is West Clare’s best hope of economic recovery. “The Shannon Estuary …

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IDA’s three visits to Clare in 2016

THERE were three IDA Ireland-sponsored site visits to Clare in the first quarter of this year, according to figures provided in the Dáil. The three visits to Clare were far behind neighbouring counties – there were 10 to Galway and nine to Limerick in the same three months. Speaking in the Dáil, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said, “While IDA Ireland does attempt to influence the choice of location, the final decision as to where to visit and, ultimately, locate is taken in all cases by the client company. “It is important to note that data on site visits is not an accurate measure of the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) activity in a region or county. That is partly because approximately 70% of all FDI investment won by IDA Ireland comes from its existing client base, rather than new companies. “The true measure of FDI is reflected in IDA Ireland’s record 2015 results. IDA Ireland …

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Working together to ‘lift’ Kilrush out of slump

THE West Clare Municipal Authority is to meet with Kilrush Chamber of Commerce because the town “needs to be pushed on” according to a local representative. Councillor Bill Chambers requested that a meeting be set up with the chamber and “any other interested parties, with the view of promoting Kilrush as an industrial, commercial and tourism centre”. At the recent West Clare Area meeting, Councillor Chambers claimed, “This was a very active town until 30 years ago. There was lots of employment….it is backwards we have gone.” The Fianna Fáil councillor said he believed the town was missing out on tourism business, particularly from the Killimer ferry, because of the lack of a hotel in the town. “This town badly needs a lift and, if Kilrush is going well, then the whole area is going well,” he said. Responding to the councillor’s request, meetings administrator in the municipal district, John Corry said he would arrange the meeting, if councillors agreed. …

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Up to 100 jobs for Shannon

WIPRO Ltd has announced it will expand its workforce in Shannon by up to 100 employees, to meet increasing business requirements. Currently, the centre employs over 200 professionals and has developed into an award-winning organisation, delivering services to banks and financial services companies across Ireland and Britain. The Shannon centre provides Wipro’s IT and business process services’ (BPS) offerings to marquee retail banking and insurance customers. Wipro’s centre in Shannon, Ireland is a regulated entity through the Central Bank of Ireland and complies with the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in the UK. Rajan Kohli, Senior Vice President and Head of Banking & Financial Services, Wipro Ltd said, “Ireland today offers a great talent pool and excellent infrastructure support. We are seeing a lot of interest from banks in the region for services around business resilience, risk & compliance, simplification, digital, mobility and analytics. Our experience in working on similar engagements with various banks in the UK and other countries is …

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