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
THERE is potential for the creation of 800 jobs in the Ennis/Shannon corridor over the next four years, a local developer has said.
Padraig Howard, a director of the Barefield based Drumquin Construction, told a meeting in Ennis that the National Housing Agency has identified the requirement for 534 dwellings in Ennis and 290 houses in Shannon.
“That minimum demand creates about 800 jobs over the next four years. If everyone was to announce there was going to be 800 jobs in the town, the carpets would be rolled out. The TDs would all be here from every party and the Ministers and the Civil Service,” he said.
Mr Howard was citing figures contained in a report issued by the National Housing Agency in April.
He said, “They predicted that as an absolute minimum, excluding any pent-up demand from the last four or five years, that there is a requirement for 534 new dwellings in Ennis town between now and 2018. Shannon came out quite well in that they assessed that similar demand for 290 houses. In the Ennis / Shannon corridor there is a minimum demand, excluding pent up demand, for 800 dwellings in the next four years.
Mr Howard was speaking on the ‘recovery of jobs in the construction sector’ at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday.
He said there is now a “massive labour shortage” in the construction industry.
“We’re now into a situation where there is no plasterers, no block-layers, no chippies and for very good reason. The last six years have seen the young qualified trades people emigrating. They’ve gone to Australia, Canada, Germany; they’ve gone all over. The older ones who weren’t destroyed by businesses going bust haven’t the heart to go back into it or their age profile is such they can’t go back into it. There are no new apprentices being trained,” he explained.
Mr Howard called for changes in the payment of development contributions and for more development finance to be made available.
“Development contributions are correctly levied and should be paid but the method of paying them needs to be flexible to allow the construction industry get back on its feet.”
Mr Howard is also behind plans to develop Ireland’s largest wind-farm near Mount Callan. He said Ennis should position itself as a hub to serve the emerging renewable energy industry.
“Within one hour’s drive of this town there is going to be € 20 billion invested in the next 10 years in renewable energy. I think Ennis could and should position itself to be a hub to service that industry, the downstream service and maintenance of that industry, the planning of the. Other areas are doing this. Tralee have attracted a service centre for a major German turbine manufacturer. I believe that’s an area Ennis could capitalise on. That German manufacturer will hire 50 in Tralee and plans to increase that to 200,” he explained.