Photographed at the launch of the Ennis Streetscape Enhancement Scheme are Ennis Municipal District Acting Senior Engineer, Paddy Tiernan, Director of Services, Planning, Economic, Rural & Community Development Jason Murphy, Mayor of Ennis Cllr Mary Howard and Morgan Lahiffe, Senior Engineer, Capital Infrastructure Delivery.
A STREETSCAPE enhancement scheme worth a total of €424,000 has been announced for Ennis businesses and residential properties impacted by the long-running public realm works in the county town.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, acting senior engineer Paddy Tiernan announced details of the scheme which aims to help businesses in the town refresh their shop fronts next year following the conclusion of the €11.5m public realm works.
Tiernan outlined that a total of 406 commercial and 18 residential properties were eligible for the grant. All properties are located “within the architectural conservation area of Ennis,” he explained. This area encompasses from Steele’s Terrace to Waterpark House out to the Bishop’s Residence on Cusack Rd to Station Rd incorporating the town centre. Full uptake of the scheme gives it a “potential value of €424,000,” the senior engineer stated.
Applicants must be the owner of the property or have the owner’s written consent. “We are proposing a scheme to enhance the historic character and traditional street scene of Ennis and create properties which are more attractive for residents”.
He said the grant would “create properties which are more attractive”. €1000 is the maximum grant per property. “The grant is to be used for painting, improvements to facades and repairs of gutters and downpipes,” Tiernan advised. Applications for the scheme can be made between February 2nd and 26th 2026 with the scheme itself closing on October 31st 2026 “which gives us all spring, summer and autumn to get organised”.
Combining this with the public realm works and the boways and laneways project, Tiernan said “it is an almost €15m investment in Ennis”. He continued, “we’re approaching a conclusion and this is good times for the scheme, this is another positive story to bring the town forward and have it looking the best it can into the future”.
Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) who had sought a paint scheme for businesses impacted by the public realm described the streetscape enhancement as “great news for residents and business owners in the town centre”. She admitted that when proposing this motion, “I didn’t think it would be as good as what has been announced”. The Mayor added, “We can only imagine how good it will look when properties are done”.
She questioned if businesses who have already completed works in recent months can avail of the scheme. Tiernan responded, “we’ll talk to anybody within reason, if it is going back five years and pulling receipts from the attic it might be a different story. This scheme is designed to give something back to the town”. In a statement, Cllr Howard declared, “Together, we are making Ennis shine brighter than ever.”
Giving back to businesses is important, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) stated, “It is welcome after the public realm works which have taken so long”. He asked if businesses on the Clare Rd, Gort Rd, Quin Rd, Kilrush Rd and in Roslevan could be included, “they are ratepayers too”. The senior engineer stated, “We’re trying to get it as wide reaching as possible, the only way to extend it is to cut, we’re trying to put the money into the town centre, boost tourism and make it for the businesses who have been most affected, it has been tough, it has been hard”.
Voicing his support, Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) predicted, “I’ve no doubt businesses will avail of this, develop, move on and try energise, this is a very positive move. If businesses have gutters, they have to be addressed, what is the point of painting the building if you haven’t proper gutters”.
Applauding the work done to date, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) commented, “We have a town realm which will thrive for decades. I can see it myself walking up and down the streets, there’s so many people taking ownership of the town”. She called out property owners who have not availed of similar schemes in the past, “We’ve had previous paint schemes and it has been so disappointing to see some shop owners not avail of them, that is why we are seeing some not too many but some rotting shop fronts”.
Negotiating skills of the Ennis MD top table were praised by Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), “it is not every day you have this ball of money approved from our finance department”. He said, “This will further enhance it, I look forward to seeing our town bright, not too sparkly but shining next summer”.
Clarity was sought by Cllr Antoinette Baker Bashua (FF) on how long businesses would be waiting to be reimbursed after applying for the grant. She also asked could the local authority just provide €1000 per businesses as opposed to eighty percent of the costs.
In response, Tiernan stated, “we thought eighty percent was fair, it is costly to do business now and we expect most businesses will spend in excess of €1000, if they spend in excess of that they will get the full €1000 and if somebody spends €500 then they get €400 which we think is fair”. He flagged there would be work involved on the administration side of the Council linking the grant to their payment system, “I don’t think anybody will be waiting longer than a month, there may be an odd case but we will make this as easy to apply and administer and draw down the funds”.
Words of encouragement were voiced by Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF), “let’s have Ennis bustling and a real happening town in the years to come, let this be the first step for our town after the public realm works to make our town a leading town to go to”.
