This article is from page 15 of the 2014-06-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
THE development of a “high-quality” market in Ennis would be a boost to the local food and tourism industry, a meeting has heard.
Doirin Graham, the CEO of the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC), last week recommended that Ennis be the location for a “flagship” market development.
“There are all these food produc- ers out around the county and I think what would really work for Ennis, is a good strong, high-quality food producers market in Ennis town centre,” she said.
“There is a really good attractive range for both local people and for the tourists, to draw both tourists into a market and have all the ancillaries of cafés and music. I think we need to look at something that is a good strong, flagship-type project for Ennis. The food businesses are out there to populate a market and sustain a market, particularly from March to September. There is potential for looking at that but you need a dedicated space that is really set up for it and meets the standards that people have become used to. It also has to be attractive for tourists and locals as well.”
Prior to its abolition, the former Ennis Town Council set in train a process that could lead to the re-development of the Ennis Market.
The € 1.5 million project proposes the installation of covered market spaces in Garraunakilla.
Ms Graham was speaking at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday on the topic of community led job creation in the food sector. She said the CLDC, the company which administers LEADER funding, has supported the establishment of 86 food enterprises in Clare over the last five years. She said those enterprises have created 109 jobs in the county.