Minister Humphreys Officially Opens CTek 2 in Carrickmacross

 

State of the Art buisness facility opens to encourage and support start up and medium sized businesses in Carrickmacross.

Monaghan County Council and Enterprising Monaghan were delighted to have Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, open the new CTek 2 business hub last Friday. The project is the culmination of a 4-year process which involved major capital investment in a new state of the art business centre beside the existing and successful CTek 1 facility in Carrickmacross.

None of this would have been possible without the significant investment and support from Minister Humphrey’s Department and Monaghan County Council. The full capital investment in this new building is €3.9m euro - €3.5m grant aid from the Department and €400,000 match funding on behalf of Monaghan County Council.. There are 18 offices and meeting rooms in the new CTek 2 complex which complement the existing CTek 1 facility’s 19 units which are also full. Combined both facilities will support high income jobs covering a wide range of industries including financial services, elderly and vulnerable persons care services, energy companies and accreditation bodies to name but a few. The project was designed to build upon the CTek 1 success and aims to encourage local companies in the region to support high income graduate opportunities.

Enterprising Monaghan who are the project managers, have over 30 years’ experience of building and managing affordable workspace within the county. Currently they own and manage nine facilities which have over 50 tenants employing approximately 500 people within County Monaghan. These tenants include local and foreign entrepreneurs and businesses who work in a wide range of industries as already noted above.

In the context of CTek 2, Monaghan County Council and Enterprising Monaghan are delighted to say that at present there will be 11 businesses working out of the new facility who between them are aiming to create approximately 40 jobs at CTek 2. This would bring valuable new job opportunities to Carrickmacross and its surrounding region. Underpinning the communication and broadband system of Ctek 2 is SIRO which offers the most advanced systems of its kind in Ireland. Amanda Glancy, SIRO Director of Corporate Affairs said:

‘SIRO is pleased to partner with Monaghan County Council and Enterprising Monaghan to equip their new Carrickmacross facility with 100% fibre broadband as part of our Gigabit Hub Initiative. This advanced connectivity will serve as an asset for the facility’s thriving community of businesses, start-ups, and remote professionals, enabling them with the digital infrastructure essential for growth and success, both locally and beyond.’

Minister Humphreys said she was delighted to be officially opening the facility and congratulated the project management team at Monaghan County Council and Enterprising Monaghan on developing this important asset for the region.

Minister Humphreys said:

“County Monaghan has a long and rich history of entrepreneurship. This new state-office complex will ensure that a new generation of SME’s and entrepreneurs in County Monaghan have a place to start-up, grow and expand from. This project clearly shows the benefits of targeted Government investment in our regions through programmes like the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF). As part of Our Rural Future, the Government’s National Rural Development Policy, we want to support rural areas to be innovative and build on their own natural strengths – that is exactly what CTek 2 in Carrickmacross is about and I look forward to seeing local companies benefit from this great facility long into the future.”

To which Monaghan County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Cathy Bennett, said:

Monaghan County Council are delighted to be able to match fund this state of the art project. This building will open endless opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners to take that first step of getting their business ideas up and running.

She commended Finbarr Daly and all his team in Enterprising Monaghan for their hard work and commmitrment in making “County Monaghan the very best that it can be”

She wished everyone success with the project as they move forward and she looked forward to seeing more new businesses and more jobs in County Monaghan.

Monaghan County Council Chief Executive, Robert Burns added,

“The CTek 2 project has been supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund which provides funding for innovative and collaborative projects with the aim of sustainable job creation in the regions. I am delighted to be here today at the official opening with the Oireachtas members, local representatives and my colleagues along with our partners in Enterprising Monaghan. I want to thank my own team, Moss Construction and Enterprising Monaghan for the delivery of this great facility. Ctek 2 will help support an increase in development of new businesses in the Carrickmacross area. I would like to wish all the tenants both here and in Ctek 1 continued success and we look forward to working with for many years to come.

Finally, speaking about the project, Chair of Enterprising Monaghan Claire Cunningham noted that:

We are delighted to welcome Minister Humphreys here today and we really appreciate the support of the Minister and her department for this project. As in many other projects throughout the county, we are delighted to be working with Monaghan County Council on the CTek 2 facility which as already noted has excellent projects signed up. Indeed, I think the fact that we already have 11 companies combined with our 14 CTek 1 clients shows that we have a vibrant business community operating here on Riverside Road. I also want to acknowledge Enterprising Monaghan CEO Finbarr Daly, Alan Kilpatrick, CTek business centre manager along with the rest of the EM team: Dora McElwain, Darren McQuillan and Eithna Brennan. Thank you and the Monaghan County Council team, Damien Thornton and Gary

Toye for your hard work in getting this facility operational and ready for today’s opening. Finally, I would like to welcome the new tenants and facility users here at both CTek 1 & 2. We wish you all many years of succes