€10 Million Loan To Ennis 2040 DAC Provokes Mixed Reaction From Elected Representatives

Photo © Clare County Council

A former Mayor of Ennis insists employment created from a €10 million loan to develop the town will benefit people in all of county Clare.

Councillors yesterday gave the green light to lend the sum to the Ennis 2040 DAC, which is continuing to provoke a mixed reaction from elected representatives here.

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The Ennis 2040 Designated Activity Company has been registered with the remit of socially and economically developing the county town.

It’s intended to provide employment opportunities, environmental improvements and other plans developed in conjunction with the as-yet unpublished Ennis 2040 strategy.

Its Board of Directors will be chaired by Gerry Cahill, formerly of Roche, and will include a number of Council officials and public representatives.

It’s understood up to nine sites have already been identified for the company as ‘potential development opportunities’, with the bulk of this loan intended to facilitate such initiatives.

Councillors gave the green light to the move by 23 votes to 5 following fiery exchanges at yesterday’s monthly meeting, with those voting in favour of the proposal insisting all areas of the county will benefit from Ennis’ development.

However, a handful of Councillors from outside of Ennis have voiced their concerns on the move, and have called for similar plans to be put in place for other areas of the county.

Shannon Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn, who voted against the move, doesn’t believe the loan proposal is providing equal treatment to every municipal district in Clare.

One West Clare councillor raised concerns about governance within the entity, while suggesting during yesterday’s meeting that rural areas in this county are ‘dying’.

The company is wholly owned by the local authority and elected members will be updated on its progress twice a year – but Lissycasey-based Fianna Fail Councillor PJ Kelly doesn’t think this is good enough.

His Ennis party colleague, though, insists the spin off effect from the cash injection into the town will see areas throughout the Banner county prosper.

Currently, 50 percent of people from Clare who work in Ennis live outside of the town.

Fianna Fail councillor and former Ennis mayor Clare Colleran Molloy says without such a plan in place, it’s unlikely the level of future investment the town requires would be possible.

Ennis 2040 DAC is undergoing a recruitment process for a Chief Operating Officer, with the successful candidate to report directly to the company’s Board for a five year term.