This article is from page 6 of the 2013-12-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
ENNIS could be set for an employment boost after it was announced that up to 20 new jobs could be created in the town next month. Private bus company Dublin Coach has been granted a license from the National Transport Authority (NTA) to extend its service from Dublin Airport to include Ennis. The company, which is owned by Clare businessman John O’Sullivan, had previously been refused a license to extend its daily Limerick/Dublin service to include Ennis. However a special meeting of Ennis Town Council last month heard the company has been successful in its application following submissions to the NTA from the local authority, councilors and local businesses. In a letter to the council in May, Mr O’Sullivan stated the company was considering using Ennis as tourism “hub” due to the quality of bus parking facilities in the town centre. Last year the council spent € 76,000 on new bus and coach parking spaces and facilities in the Friars Walk area of the town. At the council meeting, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told members that as many as 20 permanent jobs could be created in the town through Dublin Coach’s expansion into Ennis. Cllr Flynn told the meeting Mr O’Sullivan sees Ennis as a potential tourism hub from which to base bus tour services to Clare’s most popular tourist attractions. It is thought that a further 50 jobs could be created next year. In his letter to the council in May, Mr O’Sullivan, a native of Kilrush, indicated the service could boost tourist numbers in the town. “Currently we operate a coach service every hour in both directions between Limerick and Dublin. Having viewed your facility we believe there is real merit in extending this service to Ennis. This could translate into 16 departures and arrivals each day from your coach park to Dublin and Dublin Airport. This provides a real opportunity to attract tourists from Dublin to Ennis with such high frequency, low cost fast and comfortable connections,” he wrote.