*Diarmuid McMahon. Photograph: Tom Micks
DIARMUID McMahon is to become President of Ennis Chamber for the second time.
Managing Director of estate agents, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon, Diarmuid begins his twelve month tenure as President of Ennis Chamber on Thursday (today). He succeeds Sheila Lynch who has held the post since April 2023.
Siobhan Berminghan who heads up HR as Essilor, also known locally as Organic Lens will be Ennis Chamber’s new Vice President.
McMahon was first appointed President in April 2018 and had been an active member of the steering committee involved in the Ennis 2040 economic and spatial strategy.
A qualified chartered accountant, Diarmuid is the fourth generation of McMahon’s to manage his family business, which has been trading in Ennis since 1900. He also follows in the footsteps of his father, in the context of Ennis Chamber, with his father Dermot McMahon having served three years in the role of president from 1975.
Ahead of his second stint as President, Diarmuid has stressed the urban requirement for an upgrade to the Clareabbey wastewater treatment plant which according to Uisce Éireann is at full capacity.
Speaking in Dublin last week at the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and Academy of Urbanism conference, Uisce Éireann Chairman Jerry Grant described Ireland’s water system as being “in a desperate state”.
This is a view shared by McMahon who noted Clareabbey, one of two wastewater treatment plants in Ennis, is designated at red on Uisce Éireann’s traffic light system meaning no capacity is available. He said, “To think that the county town, and economic driver for Clare has only one functioning wastewater treatment is preposterous. It renders ridiculous any conversation around future population growth for Ennis Municipal District. How can developers have confidence to purchase zoned land if one half of the town currently offers no opportunity for connectivity? It’s a shocking state of affairs. Not only does this basic lack of infrastructure stymie any future promise of delivering private or affordable housing to large swathes of Ennis and the Municipal District, it also thwarts the possibility of attracting investment in commercial and industrial development”.
According to Diarmuid, this gross lack of infrastructure calls into question many elements of the County Development Plan. “The 2023 to 2029 development plan immediately needs to be reviewed to ensure that serviced lands zoned for residential strategic reserve, that are serviceable by the second plant with capacity, are redesignated for residential use now. We cannot wait for 2029 to review the plan as we are shutting half of the town down for residential development. Lands that are zoned for residential use in the 2023 to 2029 development plan that would be serviced by the Clareabbey Wastewater Treatment Plant have effectively been sterilised for use”.
Also at the Sustainable Urban Regeneration Conference, Grant told attendees that Uisce Éireann has “no mandate” to provide for future housing growth, something which was “very poorly understood and very often misrepresented”.
Ennis Chamber has urged the Government to invest in water infrastructure, otherwise all of the plans for population and jobs growth for Ennis are just words without foundation. CEO, Margaret O’Brien said the situation regarding lack of connectivity at Clareabbey Wastewater Treatment Plant, was confirmed at a recent Chambers Ireland CEO forum held in Dublin, which was addressed by two senior representatives of Uisce Éireann.
She commented, “Investment in Clareabbey Wastewater Treatment Plant is now a top lobbying priority for Ennis Chamber, both locally with elected councillors and TDs and nationally. We need the facility at Clareabbey to be upgraded, if we are to realise the potential of Ennis”.
McMahon has made a commitment to make this a key policy issue for twelve month tenure.
