*Kilrush Marina.
ALLOCATION OF €3.5m in Government funding for the development of a maritime training centre and research base for the offshore renewable energy sector has been hailed as the biggest announcement for West Clare since Moneypoint in the 1980s.
€3,536,919 has been allocated to redevelop a vacant building at the Kilrush Marina as a Maritime Training Centre and research base for the offshore renewable energy sector in the Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF). In addition, Clare County Council will put €700,000 into the project. It is unclear if this is the building in the Marina understood to be impacted by pyrite.
It is envisaged that the training centre will provide a range of specialist mandatory maritime training courses, creating 28 jobs and catering for 1,200 trainees each year who are expected to stay in local accommodation.
An economic impact report submitted with the Kilrush application predicts a €3.2 million annual benefit to the Kilrush area but this could be significantly increased by earnings from the offshore energy sector. It also predicts 32,000 bed nights over the initial five years of operation and 134,000 for the first fifteen years. Across the fifteen years, the total impact of the site is forecast at €48.7m.
Including the offshore renewable energy research base is seen as a major step forward in West Clare’s efforts to capitalise on the growing sector.
Kilrush based Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) said the provision of funding was “the single biggest game changer for West Clare since the announcement of Moneypoint in the 1980s”. He stated, “This announcement is an opportunity for West Clare to position them as a market leader in renewable energy. It is a real opportunity to create employment, drive economic investment, and capitalise on our natural resources so Ireland can play a significant part in addressing the world energy crisis”.
In 2015, Cllr Lynch requested the County Council to establish a Marine Centre of Excellence on the Northern Bank of the Shannon Estuary.
Clare TD, Joe Carey (FG) stated, “While this will bring an immediate and tangible boost to the local economy, the development of a training and research base for the offshore renewable energy sector will position Kilrush as a major player in an industry that has the potential to deliver major socio-economic benefit to rural Clare and the western seaboard.
“Due to its unique location in a Heritage Town, it is both a rural development project and a town centre regeneration initiative. This dual designation was a significant help in my efforts to secure RRDF funding for the project. This is underlined in a major study commissioned by the Shannon Foynes Port Authority which concludes that the Shannon Estuary is on course to become an international floating offshore wind energy hub,” Carey added.
Initial plans for a Maritime Enterprise Zone, incorporating a training centre were to be based at the former Cahercon Convent in Kildysart and initial funding of €1.8 million was allocated to Clare County Council for this project. “However when it was established that renovation costs would be several times the initial estimates, it was decided that the Cahercon proposal was no longer viable,” Deputy Carey said.
Deputy Cathal Crowe (FF) was encouraged that vacant historic buildings have been targeted under the RRDF, “buildings that it has been a crying shame to watch crumble,” he said. “In Kilrush, the long spoken about Maritime Training Centre will progress, thanks to this fund. This will see Creek Lodge purchased and renovated, to include retrofit and upgrades to the layout and when complete, will operate as a training centre creating 28 full-time jobs in Kilrush. The centre will also provide a research and training base for the offshore renewable energy sector. In total, the project is expected to cost in the region of €11.5 million, with €3.5m of that coming from the RRDF scheme”.
