This article is from page 2 of the 2006-08-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
NORTH Clare is set to receive one of the biggest jobs boosts in its history with the announcement by Clare County Council yesterday of 100 new jobs at the Cliffs of Moher.
A major recruitment drive is expected to begin early next month with all positions likely to be filled before the start of the 2007 season.
The new jobs will consist of admission staff, rangers and grounds and maintenance personnel, with the council hoping to draw people from all over the county.
“The creation of over 100 jobs at the world famous site is excellent news not only for north Clare, but for the entire county,” said Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher New Visitor Experience.
“The new positions will also compliment the site’s improved visitor facilities, which are currently under construction.
“They include a major Interpretative area called ‘Atlantic Edge’, containing exhibits and displays on a range of aspects of the Cliffs of Moher.”
The announcement was made at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in America, where a delegation from Clare County Council are promoting the county as a tourist destination to more than 135,000 festivalgoers.
The Cliffs of Moher project has come in for an amount of criticism in recent times, but the President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Temple Gate Hotel, John Madden, has urged the people of Clare to get behind the project.
“Clare County Council’s commitment to improving the visitor experience at the Cliffs of Moher is a very positive one as far as many of those involved in the tourism sector are concerned,” commented Mr Madden. “It builds on the optimism, which we can already see around the county, in terms of new hotel developments.
“It will also encourage other businesses in this sector to further expand as the number of visitors to the county increases.
“The improved facilities, once opened next year, will create hugely positive knock on effects for the entire economy in Clare.
“Therefore, it is imperative that the local business community pledges its support to the project.”
Yesterday’s announcement came less than a week after Clare County Council announced that three leading tour operators from the USA, United Kingdom and Ireland had committed their 2007 tourist programme to the Cliffs of Moher New Visitor Experience.
The council also said that they expected more than one million people to visit the Cliffs of Moher New Visitor Experience in 2007.