Taoiseach opens shopping centre in 500-job boost for town

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has predicted Tipperary is set for a “major jobs boost” after an 11,000 square metre shopping centre was opened in the county, potentially creating 500 new positions.

The Showgrounds shopping centre facility, which was opened by Mr Cowen in Clonmel yesterday, includes 32 retail units ranging from book stores to fashion outlets and jewellers.

International firms such as Marks & Spencer, Pamela Scott, and Pralibel Belgian Chocolate have rented space at the centre, helping to create 300 new jobs.

However, when the store is fully occupied by the end of the year, a further 200 posts are expected to be created.

“This is a state-of-the-art development, with a great mix of fashion, food and leisure retailers, and with more to follow,” said Mr Cowen.

“It is also the only shopping centre to open in Ireland this year. Already it’s providing 300 new jobs in Clonmel and when fully occupied, it is expected that 500 people will be employed. This major jobs boost is especially welcome and allied to this excellent facility, is a great addition to the town and its environs,” he said.

To date, 25 of the 32 retail units at the new facility have been rented, with retail agents Savills predicting the remaining seven spaces will be filled over the coming weeks.

“We have a great selection of Irish, UK and European retailers at the Showgrounds providing a good mix of fashion, food and leisure services for a town that has been under-served in retail terms,” said Savills director Peter O’Meara.

He added that retailers have been “very impressed” with the fact the new facility has 240,000 people living within a 40-minute drive of the location.

Plans for a further extension to the Showgrounds site put forward by the Limerick-based Greenband Investments company, which could have created a further 250 jobs, were rejected by An Bord Pleanála in mid-September.

However, the company said after “positive support” from Clonmel Borough Council, the planning permission request has been revised and relodged with the state organisation.

Like most parts of the country, unemployment levels have risen sharply in south Tipperary in recent months, impacting drastically on the local economy.

In June 2007 the youth unemployment rate in the area was 733. However, it currently stands at more than 1,840 — a 172% increase in just two years.