July in Kilkenny: Abbey Quarter set for €12 million boost and green light for 200 new jobs

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys paid a visit to the Marble City and announced that €12.3 million development loan finance has been allocated to regenerate part of the old in brewery site into ‘top-class’ accommodation.
The Minister said that the funding would be ‘a huge opportunity for Kilkenny’.
“Without a doubt, this will be hugely attractive to indigenous and foreign investors alike,” she said.
According to letting agent, Lisney, the Brewhouse will be the first building to be developed, and will provide a range of flexible ‘grade A’ office options.
The masterplan for the Abbey Quarter sets out a vision for mixed use residential, commercial, retail, education and civic spaces, and a 2.5 acre public urban park at St Francis Abbey. It also includes for a linear park along the banks of the river and conservation of the site’s historic buildings.
In a horrific act of animal cruelty a pair of rare and legally held birds have been intentionally poisoned in their nesting place in South Kilkenny. The birds were found to have ingested large amounts of the poison carbofuran which was planted near their nests at the Slate Quarries, near Windgap.
Ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Mr Jimi Conroy believes that a live pigeon was probably used as bait by persons unknown and was covered in a poison and then tied to a stake close to the nest to lure the nesting couple.
Meanwhile there was also some good news in July with the announcement of 200 jobs for Mullinavat. The development consists of phased works including the construction of a 24-hour motorway service are to include a convenience store, off licence and a food court with cafe and restaurant including take away facilites, an indoor play area, offices and a reception with tourist information.
At the end of July a new report was published which flagged concerns over the lack of high-quality job creation in Kilkenny, and indicated that ‘weak’ economic recovery is now here. The report revealed that from 2011 to 2017, the IDA created 57,666 net jobs nationally.
Kilkenny accounted for less than 0.6% of these despite being home to more than 2% of the Irish population.