Continuing Jobs Boost For North County
Monday, 26 July 2010 14:25
The good news on the employment front continued apace last week with the opening of new Drinan Enterprise Centre in Kinsealy. This has been welcomed as a further shot in the arm for the North County as a place to do business. Marking an optimistic day for job creation in the area, County Mayor, Ken Farrell opened the new 31 unit Enterprise Centre in the presence of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD. Drinan Enterprise Centre, on the Feltrim Road is the third Enterprise Centre developed and opened by the County Council. All of this positive news is beginning to filter down to the retail sector and has had a very positive effect on the entire North County area. As has been reported in this newspaper in the last few editions, there is a sense that economic life is returning to the North County. Many businesses with outlets in other parts of Ireland, who decided to locate to other climes, are now returning to set up their businesses here. They now see this area as the place to be successful in business.Nowhere is this more evident than in the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, which has seen a very welcome increase in the number of retail outlets being occupied. A delighted Centre Director, Ian Hunter told the County Leader, “We have had a great month with a number of new signings joining us here in the Pavilions Shopping Centre. Within the next three months, you will see The Perfume Shop, Early Learning Centre, Jack & Jones and Vera Moda open to trade. Meteor and Zippy Alteration have just opened this month. This is a demonstration of retailers’ confidence in both Swords and the North County. When we take all the new openings and new signings, we will be generating over 100 new jobs, many in the restaurant business, which is great news for Swords.” He continued, “The combination of these new offers strengthen the existing food mix within the centre, adding to occupiers such as GBK, Kylemore, Brambles and Pavilions Food Fair. In particular, they will appear to the thousands of cinema goers who visit Movies@Swords each week. To add to the good news, An Post have recently signed up to a unit in neighbouring shopping centre, Swords Central, which is directly linked to the Pavilions. They are due to open their new unit in September. An Post will provide a wide range of of services and will significantly increase the footfall within the centre and is bound to attract further investors, All in all, a feel good factor is establishing itself in the North County which is bound to have a very positive effect on our residents and shoppers. Already an inspiring success in difficult times, Drinan Enterprise Centre welcomed its first business in March 2010 and it is now home to 17 businesses. Demand for the offices has been extremely high, reflecting the attractive location and the state-of-the-art facilities available. At an extremely challenging time for small business, 41 jobs are already supported in its tenant companies and this number is expected to rise to over 100 at any one time upon full occupancy. The opening of Drinan Centre has been viewed as a watershed and this is evidenced by the large turnout of representatives from all sectors of the community. Events like this have a knock on effect in the wider community and the morale of the district has definitely been raised. A very enthusiastic County Manager, David O’Connor said at the opening of Drinan centre, “Creating employment opportunities in the North County is always a priority, but we also identified a specific need in the greater Swords area for an Enterprise Centre to support new start-ups. Drinan Enterprise Centre is the result of action taken by the Council to meet that need.” he said. Pictured outside Swords Pavillions are Ian Hunter, Centre Director and Deirdre King, Communications and Marketing Manager. |
