Development firm defends role

SHANNON Development yesterday put a brave face on the loss of it’s main role as a job creation agency when posting figures showing the company helped bring 1,795 new jobs to local industry last year.

Of these 450 were created in the Shannon Free Zone and 1,345 in indigenous enterprises elsewhere in the mid-west. However, that figure was offset by a loss of 1,745 jobs giving a net gain of 50.

Speaking at the publication of the company’s annual report, Kevin Thompstone said several hundred additional jobs are already in the pipeline for 2006.

There are now almost 20,000 Shannon Development-assisted jobs in the mid-west with a wages take of almost 700 million.

Shannon Development is in the process of handing over its job creation role to Enterprise Ireland and the IDA and this process will be finalised in coming months.

The company will retain its role as the regional tourism body in the mid-west.

The stripping of its jobs remit has caused deep anger among Shannon Development employees who have accused the board of failing the company.

Shannon Development will take on responsibility for developing marginalised areas in the region and is currently working out a strategy to tackle this brief.

Some of the 150 Shannon Development staff will transfer to other state agencies and others are expected to opt for redundancy under the new set up.

The company has been allowed hold on to its property portfolio in Shannon Free Zone and industrial parks in the region. These buildings yield annual rental of €18m, about 50% coming from the Shannnon Free Zone.

When the new Shannon Airport Authority takes over the full and independent running of Shannon Airport, Shannon Development will give marketing and financial support to generate more Irish passengers.`

Shannon Development chairman Liam McElligott said the company now had a written mandate from the Government to plan the way ahead.

“We have to get on with it. The company has gone through a traumatic situation where the future of the company was in doubt, the shape of the company was in doubt, the asset base was in doubt,” he commented.

But he said they now had been given a Government mandate to construct a sea change in regional development and this was a fabulous challenge. Mr Thompstone said the board of the company, management and staff were up for the challenge ahead.

He said there would be a reduction in staff, but as this was at a sensitive stage with negotiations ongoing, he would not speculate on numbers.

Staff numbers, he said had fallen from around 200 three years ago to the current figure of 150.

Shannon Heritage, the company’s tourism subsidiary attracted 620,000 people to its range of day visitor attractions and castle banquets last year.

“The Shannon Heritage operation is vitally important to tourism in the region as it continues to annually contribute more than €20m to the local economy in spin-off revenue,” Mr Thompstone said.

He said a growing range of initiatives have been drawn up to tap into the domestic market.