ATTRIBUTES ATTRIBUTES OF THE MID-WEST INCLUDE: • A critical mass of 384,998 (8.1% of the State population); • Limerick County and City population of 195,175 (2016); • Population of Limerick City and Suburbs 94,192 which is the third largest in Ireland; • Four Key Towns: Ennis, Nenagh, Thurles and Newcastle West; • Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area is the third largest in Ireland with a population of 132,420 in 2016 and a projected population of 172,188 by 2031; • Established high-tech sectors in ICT, Medi-Tech, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Food and Drink; • Limerick produces over 6,300 graduates per year; • The Limerick Twenty Thirty Strategic Development Company was established to deliver on key strategic sites in the Limerick 2030 Plan including the Opera Site, Gardens International Office Development, Cleeves Riverside Campus and Troy International film studios; • County Tipperary population in 2016: 159,553; • SIFP provides a coherent spatial plan to recognise the economic potential of the Shannon Estuary; • Golden Vale Brand for High Quality Food Production; • Tipperary is a ‘European Model DemonstratorRegionof theBio-Economy’ ; • The National Bio-economy Hub in Lisheen, Thurles, Co. Tipperary provides opportunities to promotemore efficient use of renewable resources while supporting economic development and employment in rural areas; • Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, Wild Atlantic Way all in Mid-West;
• County Clare recorded a population of 118,817 in the 2016 Census; • Shannon International Airport - over 40% of US FDI companies are within 1 hour of the airport’s catchment area; • Shannon Free-Zone (SFZ) is 243 hectares in area with more than 7,000 employees in over 100 companies and is home to the largest agglomeration of American companies in Ireland outside of Dublin; • Shannon Foynes Port is a Tier 1 Port of National Significance. It has a key role, both regionally and nationally, in meeting the external trading requirements of the Irish economy; • International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) - the largest aerospace cluster in Ireland. Home to over 60 companies and employs over 2,600 people in Shannon; • Advancement of the development of a Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) R&D hub and testbed in Shannon; • Strategic inter-regional rail connectivity ; • Atlantic Economic Corridor and central location to the Metropolitan Areas of Galway, Cork, Waterford; • Energy : Mid-West SPA is a net contributor of renewable energy which significant opportunities in, inter alia, bio-economy, wind and wave energy; • Significant tourism assets of the Mid-West SPA include, inter alia, the Hunt Museum, Adare Heritage Centre, the Milk Market, Ballyhoura Mountain Trails, Thomond Park, the Great Southern Greenway, the Frank McCourt Museum, Pery Square, Limerick Gallery of Arts, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Red Mile, Ireland’s Lakelands, the Shannon Estuary and its islands, greenways, blueways, Munster Vales the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, West Clare NST tourism route, Loop Head, Bunratty Castle, Holy Island, Lough Derg, King John’s Castle; • University of Limerick (UL), Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), Mary Immaculate College (MIC), St. Patrick’s College Thurles, Burren College of Art, Gurteen Agricultural College, Templemore Garda College and the Shannon College of Hotel Management are critical drivers of economic development and the fostering of an innovative, knowledge-based economy for the Mid-West SPA.
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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