*Cllr Rita McInerney (FF). Photograph: Eugene McCafferty.
PRODUCING a repeated report on the progress of the Kilrush Maritime Training Centre in Clare County Council’s monthly management update has been criticised by a West Clare representative.
Since May 2024, Clare County Council’s monthly management report has said “work is continuing on the preparation of a funding application” for the Kilrush Maritime Training Centre.
“Work is continuing on the Kilrush Maritime Training Centre Project to identify a suitable funding stream to cover the remaining funding gap within the project. The Project Team are liaising with the Department of Rural Regeneration and Community Development with respect to due diligence on the projects funding allocation,” the update this month outlined, the same update has been issued since October.
In January, elected members of the Council were informed, “the Project Team are liaising
with Enterprise Ireland in relation to the Smart Regions Fund and discussions on this should conclude in the coming weeks at which point Clare MEZ DAC can decide on the suitability of this scheme for Kilrush Maritime Training Centre”.
Enterprise Ireland have yet to conclude their analysis of the Smart Regions funding scheme to establish if the Kilrush Maritime Training Centre project can apply to this scheme, councillors were informed this month. Under stream one, €145 million is being made available to infrastructure projects which provide innovative capabilities to the region.
Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) pointed out the repeated use of the same report as she called out the top table of the local authority. “The same report has been in the monthly management report for the Kilrush Maritime Training Centre for the last number of months so I’m concerned about this,” she admitted.
She continued, “the Department have said due diligence is ongoing but it seems to be a very slow process, I’d like more information on how the project is progressing”.
West Clare would receive “a huge lift” from the centre, the Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Muncipal District maintained. “Areas in Kerry and Galway are progressing on training for offshore wind, we need to be ahead of the game to get in on that,” the Doonbeg native maintained.
Interim Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Carmel Kirby in response said, “We’re pursuing a grant under smart regions fund to fund the shortfall, it is quite a significant shortfall in funding that project, we’d like certainty under that grant and certainty on the Dmapping on the Shannon Estuary, that is why you haven’t seen any major update on it”.
