Council urged to buy Moate land for IDA factory

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Calls have been made to explore industrial development in Moate at a recent Athlone-Moate Municipal District meeting.

The motion was brought by Cllr Tom Farrell, who asked that the Municipal District "would look at buying land in Moate for an advance factory".

"It's near the M6, it has cheaper lands for purchase, it has more affordable houses for families, and it's close to the urban centre of Athlone.

"With the quality of life that Moate offers, it could strengthen the Midlands region."

The motion received the support of Mayor Vinny McCormack, who said a factory in Moate would provide an opportunity for people in Moate to work closer to home.

"I would be happy to support this motion, and suggest we write to the IDA."

Cllr John Dolan added that "Moate is ideal where it's situated" for industrial development.

In a written response, the council executive said the IDA’s Regional Building Programme 2025 – 2029 on behalf of the IDA & Enterprise Ireland has identified 23 projects across 21 locations in eight regions in Ireland.

This consists of 13 Advanced Building Solutions and eight sites for advanced planning permits, which includes both Mullingar and Athlone for Advanced Building Solutions, and the eight sites for advanced planning permits includes Mullingar.

"Moate is not included in those plans. The Local Enterprise Office is open to liaising with any enterprise which is seeking to expand and to exploring opportunities for development in Moate."

In response to the discussion in the chamber, District Manager Jackie Finney said the Local Enterprise Office are happy to engage on the issue, and feed back information to the IDA through regular meetings.