It has been confirmed this week that the former Andersen Ireland plant in Rathkeale has been secured for the local community.It is expected that the site will be use as an enterprise centre for local companies seeking to create jobs in the town and will be similar to the other enterprise centres already set up in the county. A local group made up of the Rathkeale Community Council, Brian McEnery, Limerick City and County Council, Innovate Limerick, Cllr. Stephen Keary and Patrick O’Donovan TD was established after the closure of Andersen Ireland and they received the news that their plan for the site had been accepted by the property owners. The news comes shortly after Government approval for a European Globalisation Fund for Rathkeale’s former Andersen workers.
Patrick O’Donovan and Stephen Keary have said that they are delighted with the news that the former Andersen Plant in Rathkeale has been secured for the local community for the purpose of creating jobs in Rathkeale.
Stephen Keary said “Following the announcement of the closure, a small committee was established one evening on Rathkeale with a view to securing the plant for the community. We have in that time worked with the State Agencies, Government, the property owners and the Local Authority and throughout the process we have not made any announcements or statements because we did not want to jeopardise the whole project. However we all believe that it is important that people know that this process has been going on for a number of months and we are glad to see it being successfully concluded.”
Patrick O’Donovan paid tribute to Brian McEnery and Limerick City and County Council through their new venture Innovate Limerick without whose help he said the project could not be delivered. “Since our first meeting a huge amount of time has gone into trying to get this project over the line. We stuck with it to try to get the plant for the local community so that it could be used for the creation of badly needed jobs in the area. We were very lucky to have professional advice given to us on a voluntary basis and this made a huge difference to securing it.”
Local man and Limerick based auditor Brian McEnery said he was delighted with the news. “Coming from Rathkeale I could see at first hand the devastation that was caused when Andersen closed, so I wanted to help the community move forward. I was delighted when Patrick and Stephen asked me to help and I really believe without their leadership together with the support of the community and the commitment of the City and County Council through Innovate Limerick that we would not have secured this plant for Rathkale.”
Both Stephen Keary and Patrick O’Donovan said that they hoped to see progress being made on using the facility for the creation of employment soon. They both agreed that this was a hugely important day for the town of Rathkeale and surrounding areas and said that they were delighted to be part of a small dedicated group who worked tirelessly to deliver it.