This article is from page 50 of the 2012-05-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 50 JPG
THE FUTURE of Lahinch Seaworld seems to have been secured after the announcement of a major € 350,000 investment in the facility by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport last week.
The facility, which is a private company supported by Clare County Council, has been under new management for more than a year and hopes are high that this new investment will establish the visitor attraction as an ongoing, profit-making venture.
According to annual accounts lodged on behalf of the Lahinch Seaworld and Leisure Centre PLC, the company made a loss of just over € 97,000 in 2009.
However, it is understood that the facility has made great progress in tackling these losses in recent months.
The grant, which totals € 349,800, will be used to carry out essential maintenance work at the facility. This grant comes on top of a previ- ous grant of € 42, 500, bringing the total to € 392,300.
There was also good news for Waterworld in Kilkee last week with the announcement that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has granted them € 75,000 in funding for maintenance works.
“These are two crucial community and tourism leisure centres and I am confident that these grants will copper-fasten the future of both operations,” said Clare TD, Michael McNamara (LAB).
These latest grants are part of the third round of grant applications under the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Disabled Access and Energy Upgrade Scheme for Local Authority pools in Clare.