Business park ’too little, too late’

Ballina business park – too little, too late

Áine Ryan

TOO LITTLE  and far too late is how Ballina town councillors have dubbed an announcement by the County Manager, Des Mahon, that the controversial business park lands are about to be transferred to the IDA. At last week’s meeting of the Town Council, Mr Mahon announced that the authority now had ‘a dealing number’ with the Land Registry.
Coincidentally, the Manager’s announcement came on the same day that local Fianna Fáil TD, Dara Calleary, advised the Town Council that he had arranged for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, to meet with its members and executive members to discuss Ballina’s desperate employment needs.
In a shock revelation last August, The Mayo News reported that the lands at Quignashee, on the Sligo Road, were still in the name of deceased farmer, Mr Edward Molloy. It has now emerged that the Council was only allocated a dealing number on November 7 last, which means that the transfer of the title has just begun and the sale is ongoing.
Unsurprisingly, councillors expressed a mixture of cynicism and frustration at this latest twist in the protracted legal wranglings between the vendors – members of the Molloy family – and the County Council.
Independent councillor, Mary Kelly told The Mayo News yesterday (Monday) that it is her view that councillors ‘have been given the runaround by the IDA’ and that she has no faith in the issue being resolved within the next six months, never mind the next six weeks. 
“This development is too little and far too late. It was always obvious there were legal issues with this site and the [County] Council was advised of this at the beginning. Anyway, look at the other IDA industrial units in the town, some are empty and some are for sale, admittedly there are a few occupied,” said Cllr Kelly.
She commented on the fact that when she asked the Manager, at last week’s meeting, to put a timeframe on the resolution, he had declined.
Ms Kelly also observed that when the IDA visited Ballina two years ago, after a number of invitations, she was told ‘all the paperwork was in order’. Further substantiating the level of stonewalling and obfuscation on the issue, Cllr Tommy Cooke told the meeting that ‘before the election we were told it was sorted out, so I hope it has been sorted out’.
A number of councillors referred to the town’s damning unemployment statistics, published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in September. These revealed that Ballina is the country’s top unemployment blackspot – with 15.8 per cent of its workforce  out of work – in the category of town’s with a population of 10,000+.
However, the Manager cited the success of the Coca Cola enterprise which recently announced a jobs boost for the town.
“It is vitally important that once the transfer takes place the town and the Council come together with the IDA to promote and market the town. We have to work closely together to put forward the best image of Ballina,” said Mr Mahon.
Cllr Michelle Muherin highlighted the town’s ‘poor connectivity’ and questioned the ability of the electricity transmission network to support potential industries. Cllr Mark Winters remarked on the empty Asahi plant as a key asset and asked about an ongoing planning application to develop an innovative power plant on the Killala site. However, the Manager said he was precluded from commenting on the status of the application as it was still ‘live’.
“Ballina and Castlebar have been designated as hub towns in the National Spatial Strategy. It’s supposed to be balanced development but I see totally unbalanced development here as opposed to what’s happening in Castlebar,” said Cllr Winters.
“Obviously all things can’t be achieved at once. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’m only the gaffer. The IDA are the people to target for direct foreign investment. It is not an easy time for direct investment, you have to chase it,” the Manager concluded. He added that while ‘the Council had facilitated the IDA in buying the technical park, some of the roadblocks, not caused by the Council, were quite difficult’.
The Mayo News failed to contact an IDA spokesman.