EXCITING TIMES FOR MONAGHAN:

WORK STARTS ON NEW IDA FACILITY AT KNOCKACONNY… AND COVERED PERFORMANCE AREA TO BE CREATED IN THE DIAMOND

Michael Fisher

For over thirty years, a greenfield site on the Armagh road in Monaghan purchased by the Industrial Development Authority has been waiting for a prospective tenant. Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, recalled how it used to be a recurring item on the agenda at meetings of Monaghan County Council, where she served alongside Cllr Brian McKenna of Sinn Féin (and Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin).

The Minister was speaking as she turned the sod on a new IDA Ireland Advance Technology Building (ATB) at Knockaconny on Monday. “It’s a bit like waiting for a bus: we waited a long time for one, and then three come along at once!” she quipped, referring to separate plans for a BioConnect centre alongside the IDA building, and a new €2.1 million Enterprise Centre in Castleblayney. She also pointed out that the planning application for the project had been dealt with by Monaghan County Council in just over…