ISSUE 3 - DECEMBER 2021
FINGAL BUSINESS NEWS Fingal County Council launches free outdoor public Wi-Fi across Fingal towns and villages
Transformation of Ireland’s youngest town continues
9 September 2021
Two years on from the launch of the Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation Plan 2019-2025, the transformation of Ireland’s youngest town is taking shape, with substantial progress made across a range of objectives in all five of the Plan’s pillars.
A total of 47 Wi-Fi access points have been installed in 18 locations throughout Fingal. There are seven live access points in Swords, with five in Malahide, Howth and Skerries and four in Rush.
Donabate and Blanchardstown Village will have three live access points with two in Lusk, Naul, Blanchardstown Civic Centre and St. Catherine’s Park. Garristown, Portrane, Portmarnock, Clonsilla, Castleknock, Mudhuddart and Ongar will have one live access point each. The initiative is supported by the WIFI4EU voucher scheme which aims to provide high-quality internet access across the EU to citizens and visitors via free of charge Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces such as town and village centres, parks and civic spaces.
Councillors approve Fingal County Council’s €784m Capital Programme 13 October 2021
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
Councillors have approved Fingal County Council’s €784m three-year Capital Programme which provides for significant investment on projects across the County during period from 2022 to 2024.
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It represents a €17m increase on the previous Capital Plan with the 2022-2024 programme identifying 237 individual projects with an estimated spend of €783.73m over the three years. The Programme projects a capital spend in 2022 of €237m, followed by €265m in 2023 and a further €282m in 2023. Just over half of the €784m has been allocated to Housing with the €393m budget underpinning the Council’s commitment to delivering a significant housing programme under the Government’s new housing plan, Housing For All.
27 October 2021
The latest advancement in the improvement of the public realm has seen demolition commence of the derelict O’Shea’s building at the Harbour, where work is expected to be completed by the end of January 2022.
Passenger volumes to and from North America were down by 75%, as more than 96,000 passengers travelled on transatlantic routes in October this year versus two years ago. Other international passenger traffic to the Middle East was down by 67%, as almost 25,000 passengers travelled during the month. The number of passengers on domestic routes was down by 18%, as over 7,000 passengers travelled within Ireland last month. Over 241,000 passengers passed through Dublin Airport during the October Bank Holiday weekend, making it the busiest Bank Holiday Weekend of the year to date.
Over the period 2020- 2027, Fingal County Council anticipate making a total projected public investment of between €54m - €57m in Balbriggan. To date the Council have made property acquisitions totalling €3.9m in the town, with acquisitions for strategic redevelopment projects including the O’Sheas site, the buildings at De Bruns (comprising 6, 8, 8A, 10 & 12 Bridge Street), 14 Bridge Street and 2–4 Dublin Street.
Almost 5.9 million passengers have travelled through Dublin Airport in the first 10 months of this year, representing 79% decrease when compared to pre COVID levels in 2019.
Riot Games announce global production boost to be driven from new Fingal facility
A local producer of Irish cucumbers has been named by Fingal County Council as the winner of its firstever Sustainable Business Competition. Welgro Produce, based in Rush, won the accolade as part of an initiative aimed at encouraging businesses across Fingal to implement more sustainable approaches into their day-today operations.
29 October 2021 The news that Riot Games, the developer and publisher best known for League of Legends, has chosen a location in Swords for its new Remote Broadcast and Content Production Centre has been welcomed. Announcing that the new digital broadcast and production facilities will open in Airside Retail Park by January 2022, the decision by Riot Games to expand their operations means over 120 new jobs will be created locally.
October Saw Almost 1.6 Million Passengers Travel Through Dublin Airport 4 November 2021 Close to 1.6 Million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport in October, a 46% drop when compared to pre-COVID19 levels.
Passenger volumes to and from Continental Europe were down by 35% compared to 2019, as almost 1,003,000 passengers travelling to European destinations last month. UK traffic declined by 51% in October when compared to pre COVID levels as almost 429,000 passengers travelled to and from Britain.
Rush producer wins inaugural Sustainable Business Competition 5 November 2021
The farm, only began operations in 2020 after taking over Thomas Collins and Jim Carthy’s threeacre cucumber farm. Since then, Welgro has been successfully delivering its locally grown produce to retailers around the country, including the likes of Dunnes Stores, Sam Dennigan and Keelings. Being one of only a very few commercial producers of cucumbers in Ireland, they are hoping to cut the import cost for vendors and allowing consumers to enjoy fresh Irish produce.
The business has already shipped some 600 tonnes of cucumbers from their Rush base in 2021, which equates to a staggering 1.6 million individual cucumbers. They are expecting demand for all Irish grown produce to increase approximately 25 per cent in the coming year, mainly due to issues with international supply chains limiting the availability of imported produce. As part of the award, the business will receive a sustainability assessment and action plan from Balbriggan based Patel Tonra Ltd. Environmental Solutions, one of Ireland’s most respected and experienced environmental consultancies. They will advise Welgro on how to introduce more sustainable practices to their business and help inspire the
