Pictured above are Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director General, CIF; Conor O’Connell, Director of Housing & Planning & Development, CIF; Maeve Kearns, Director of Corporate Affairs, CIF: Joanne Treacy, Director, Southern & Eastern Region Services, CIF; Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction; Ronan O’Brien, Executive, Southern Region CIF
WHAT: CIF Southern Region Mid West Construct Conference
WHERE: Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick
WHEN: November 24
Construction stakeholders from all across the region were in attendance for the annual CIF Southern Region Mid West Construct Conference, which took place on November 24 at the Castleroy Park Hotel, Limerick.
Joining them were local politicians, representatives from Limerick and Clare County Councils, Enterprise Ireland, IDA and of course CIF regional members.
Joanne Treacy, Director CIF Southern and Eastern Region was joined by Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chairperson, who opened proceedings.
“I want to acknowledge the excellent work our member companies have been doing across the Mid West Region,” he said. “I am confident that our collective efforts, alongside our stakeholders, can further propel the regions growth and tap into the immense potential that this region has to offer.”
A cornerstone moment for this year’s event included a presentation on the housing market from Rooney Auctioneers by Ericka O’Shaughnessy and Lisa Kearney.
Joining Lisa on the Housing Panel were Nuala O’Connell, Senior Planner, Limerick City & County Council; Conor O’Connell, CIF Director of Housing & Planning; Patrick Keogh, Director of Pat Keogh Construction Ltd and Damien Quigley, Business Development Manager, HBFI.
The panel debated whether there is enough zoned and serviced residential zoned lands in the Mid West to meet the housing demand. The availability of finance to fund developments was also discussed.
Following a coffee break, John Carlton, Engineering & Port Services Manager, Shannon Foynes Port company gave a fascinating presentation on the huge number and scale of capital investment plans for the port.
A world-class port requires world-class road infrastructure to link it with the rest of the country so it was timely to also hear from Nigel O’Neill, Director of Capital Programme, TII, discuss some of the major roads projects for the Mid West.
An announcement on the M20 Cork to Limerick projects is due shortly, he said.
-
- Enda Power, Senior Project Programme Manager, Limerick 2030; Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction; Nigel O’Neill, Director of Capital Programme, Transport Infrastructure; John Carlton, Engineering & Port Services Manager, Shannon Foynes Port
-
- Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction
-
- Enda Power, Senior Project Programme Manager, Limerick 2030; Dan McSweeney, Deputy Mayor of Limerick City & County; Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director General, CIF; Nuala O’Connell, Senior Planner, Limerick City & County Council; Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction; Patrick Keogh, Director of Pat Keogh Construction Ltd; Lisa Kearney, Director & Head of Residential & New Homes Sales, Rooney Auctioneers; Ericka O’Shaughnessy, Rooney Auctioneers
-
- PJ Ryan, Head of ESG; Hubert Fitzpatrick, CIF Director General; Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction; Joanne Treacy, Director Southern & Eastern Region Services and Ronan O’Brien, CIF Executive Southern Region
-
- CIF Mid West Construct Housing Panel featuring; Damien Quigley, Business Development Manager, HBFI; Nuala O’Connell, Senior Planner, Limerick City & County Council; Patrick Keogh, Director of Pat Keogh Construction Ltd; Lisa Kearney, Director & Head of Residential & New Homes Sales, Rooney Auctioneers; Conor O’Connell, Director of Housing & Planning & Development, CIF
-
- Meabh Smith, CIF Director of Communications; Anne Haugh, Director of Social Development, Clare County Council; Tom O’Connor, CIF Mid West Branch Chair and MD of Conack Construction and Damian Quigley, Business Development Manager HBFI
Enda Power, Senior Project Programme Manager, Limerick 2030 shared his insight and expertise on the significant developments of Limerick 2030 portfolio of projects including the €300million Opera Square project, €350million Cleeves Riverside Quarter and Mungret Park with a potential for over 800 houses.
Enda, Nigel and John were then joined by Ronan O’Brien CIF Executive and Anne Haugh, Director of Social Development with Clare County Council on a panel to discuss the overall development of the Mid West Region.
John Carlton spoke about the importance of the introduction of government policy on offshore wind in order to facilitate the development of Irish ports to access the huge potential for wind energy off the coasts of Ireland.
The National Development Plan was also discussed, with a further review of the plan due shortly. The importance of the inclusion of the projects in the Mid West in the revised NDP was highlighted.
CIF Director General Hubert Fitzpatrick closed out the conference thanking the sponsors Deloitte, Roadstone, Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) and Tipperary ETB.
Hubert spoke of the new Strategic Plan for the CIF and its commitment to deliver on the needs of the members.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE CIF REGIONS
Joanne Treacy, Head of Southern & Eastern Regional Services, is secretary of the Cork and Kerry branches. Ronan O’Brien, Southern Region Executive, is secretary of the South East and Mid West branches.
They are serviced from the CIF’s Cork office. Details of meetings for members are available by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] or calling +353 21 435 1410.
