Laois council boss put on notice over demand for sports complex
The newly appointed Chief Executive of Laois County Council Michael Rainey.
LAOIS COUNTY Council’s new chief executive was put on notice by councillors that they intend to pursue their demand for a multi-use sports complex for the county.
At the January meeting of the local authority, cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley told CEO Michael Rainey that: “I want to put one thing on the record as one of my priorities and what has a been a priority for us all. That’s a multi-purpose spots complex for this county. I gave a commitment that the minute we got a new executive officer and he has his feet under the table that we’d start to prioritise this project. I’ll be keeping this on the radar. I ask that you meet the councillors, particularly the Portlaoise councillors, because the demand for it is in Portlaoise.”
She said: “There’s a huge demand out there for it. I’m sure that no councillor wants a decision that in five years’ time (next local election) when we go out looking for votes and people ask us what have we done in relation to this very important issue. We have five years to plan to try and achieve that.” Cllr Barry Walsh said that he, too, had given commitments about “trying to push this on”.
A study conducted by the council in 2019 into providing a multi-purpose spots complex in Portlaoise found that the current sporting facilities in the town were not meeting existing need/demand and are generally not fit for purpose or accessible. It estimated the construction of such a facility would range between €20 million and €60 million. Three years ago, the council’s chief executive John Mulholland put the figure at €80 million.
Prior to last year’s St Patrick’s Day parade, the Portlaoise Panters Basketball Club organised a march calling for the construction of new and improved sports and recreation facilities, which attracted hundreds of supporters from local sports clubs and organisations.
