Laundry to open in former Irish Pride bakery site

Chambers and O’Mahony clash over Claremorris employment concerns

UP to 30 jobs will be created in Ballinrobe next year with more to come following the relocation of an industrial laundry service to the former Irish Pride bakery site.
Managing Director of the company OCL Laundry Services Alan O’Connor confirmed the jobs boost to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday) and says he hopes to be up and running at the Abbey Street location by April.
Mr O’Connor, whose family had originally set up Western Pride on the site in Ballinrobe in the 1950s, currently runs operations from a factory in Claremorris.
He made the move to relocate his business after he could not find a suitable property in Claremorris to allow for the much needed expansion.
O’Connor will now lease the property from a local businessman in Ballinrobe who has bought the site which closed its doors in September after Pat the Baker bought Irish Pride.
“I hadn’t thought about it when Irish Pride went into receivership, I had been looking for a place in Claremorris but I couldn’t get anywhere suitable.”  
The business owner currently employs 52 people, with a further ten being employed during peak times.
O’Connor is currently sourcing specialist equipment for the Abbey Street factory, with one machine alone requiring six staff to operate it.
“I hope we will be open by April, we’ve taken on so much work that we’ll be operating 24 hours a day in Claremorris by March and with the expansion in Ballinrobe we’ll be looking to take on more work...We’ve grown by 25 percent this year and we will grow more next year,” said Mr O’Connor.

Warm welcome
Fine Gael TD, Deputy John O’Mahony has warmly welcomed the news.
“This development will mean extra economic activity in Ballinrobe and it’s a great boost to the area. An announcement of new economic activity in a town is always welcome but when that activity is going to be based in a premises that was such an integral part of the economic life of Ballinrobe it seems even more significant,” said Deputy O’Mahony.
Meanwhile, Fianna FΡil councillor Lisa Chambers has described the relocation by OCL as a ‘devastating blow to Claremorris’ and ‘bittersweet news’.
Cllr Chambers has welcomed the news of the investment to Ballinrobe but said that Claremorris appears to have been ‘forgotten by this government and indeed the IDA’.
“There is an onus now on the government to assist Claremorris in what ever way possible to attract new industry and help to fill the void that will undoubtedly be left when OCL Laundry Services vacate their Ballindine Road premises in Claremorris,” said Cllr Chambers.
She added, “It seems the best this government can do for Mayo in terms of job creation is to move existing jobs around the county, instead of creating new jobs.”
Responding to the comments, Deputy O’Mahony said he did not agree with Cllr Chambers’ comments and said companies such as CBE and DeCare Dental continue to hire people in Claremorris.
The Fine Gael Deputy said there had been ‘huge investment’ in Claremorris by the Government and that the town was well serviced with facilities which had received investment, along with investment in infrastructure for the town.
“There will be real jobs once this expansion takes place. Recovery is spreading and I’d be slow to talk down Claremorris, it has a wonderful chamber of commerce doing great work,” concluded the Deputy.