Business community gather to hear from Kildare Native Padraig McManus, Chairman of Curragh Racecourse Ltd.
North Kildare Chamber hosted its first business breakfast of 2016 with Padraig McManus as guest speaker in The Killashee Hotel this week with 200 business leaders in attendance. Padraig McManus is Chairman of Eir, ESRI and the recently appointed Chair of Curragh Racecourse Ltd. The latter role will see him oversee this €65 million flagship development of the racetrack. In his address, Padraig gave an in-depth overview of his career to date and the many projects that he is involved in, as well as a personal statement of the concept of social inclusion and how we measure our success as a society. With broadband high on the agenda of the Chambers pre-election manifesto it was interesting to hear of the role out of broadband and the current work Eir are carrying out to ensure that access to high speed broadband is nearing completion.
Padraig spoke passionately with regards to the Curragh Racecourse project which was of particular interest to his mainly ‘Lilywhite’ audience. He outlined the programme of works and the positive impact that the development will have for the entire county. He paid tribute to the wonderful work already being done by both Newbridge Silverware and Kildare Village in raising the county’s profile to national and international visitors. McManus acknowledged the decline in business in our towns as out of town developments are here to stay. A particular focus is needed to address the lack of footfall in our towns. With an election looming, this will be of particular interest to the many candidates in the room from both North and South Kildare constituencies. McManus outlined the need for the next Government to continue to be pro-business, a view echoed by the Chamber President Vivian Cummins in his welcoming speech.