Latest news with #LauraMcCarthy
Irish Independent
10-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dublin City Council approves food hall use for vacant St Andrew's Church
City officials granted planning permission after concluding the food hall would comply with the zoning objective of the site and would not detract from the area's civic character. Fáilte Ireland will not be operating the food hall itself, but will instead press ahead with a plan to seek an experienced operator to lease the space out for that use. The statute of Molly Malone stands outside the well-known church in an area of Dublin city centre that has a high footfall of tourists. A recent inspection of the statue found that it was unstable with multiple broken fittings. Experts found that two pins holding the statue in place were destroyed. In a letter to Dublin City Council, Laura McCarthy from Fáilte Ireland had said: 'The proposed change of use for the premises has the potential to create a major centrally-based asset for the city, with the potential to inject cultural and economic value, which would benefit local residents, employees and all visitors, both domestic and foreign.' Ms McCarthy, manager of corporate services at Fáilte Ireland, pointed out that food tourism generates around €2bn for the Irish economy each year. 'In order to generate and sustain further economic opportunity and economic development, we need to create iconic food and drink experiences – the proposed change of use and redevelopment of St Andrew's would be the embodiment of that vision,' she said. 'It is envisaged that the proposed food hall will showcase the best of local and Irish produce within a very high-quality setting, which will not only reinvigorate but repurpose part of our capital city's historic building inventory.' Planning documents said the new food hall has the potential to generate 30 to 40 full and part-time jobs. The Swords-based Wright Group secured planning for a food hall at St Andrew's Church in 2019 through its Mink Fusion subsidiary but with the Covid-19 pandemic intervening, the firm did not proceed with the five-year planning permission. In a separate planning report lodged with the application by David Mulcahy Planning Consultants, it stated that the proposed new use 'will bring life back to this vacant building which is one of the most prominent buildings in the city'. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Mulcahy stated that 'the concept of a food/dining hall, which is essentially a permanent indoor market with associated dining facilities, is well established in most European cities and they are very popular for tourists, city residents and local employees'. He said that the emphasis will be on showcasing local produce, fresh where possible.
The Journal
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Fáilte Ireland gets green light to create food hall in vacant church near Grafton Street
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has given the green light to Fáilte Ireland for its planning application to establish a food hall at the vacant St Andrew's Church near Grafton Street in Dublin 2. The council has granted planning permission after concluding that the planned food hall would comply with the zoning objective of the site and would not detract from the area's civic character. Fáilte Ireland will not be operating the food hall itself but will now instead press ahead with its plans to seek an experienced operator to lease the space out for food hall use. In a letter to Dublin City Council, Laura McCarthy from Fáilte Ireland stated that 'the proposed change of use for the premises has the potential to create a major centrally based asset for the city, with the potential to inject cultural and economic value which would benefit local residents, employees and all visitors, both domestic and foreign'. Manager at Corporate Services at Fáilte Ireland McCarthy pointed out that food tourism generates around €2 billion to the Irish economy each year. Advertisement McCarthy said: 'In order to generate and sustain further economic opportunity and economic development we need to create iconic food and drink experiences – the proposed change of use and redevelopment of St Andrew's would be the embodiment of that vision. She added: 'It is envisaged that the proposed food hall will showcase the best of local and Irish produce within a very high-quality setting which will not only reinvigorate but repurpose part of our capital city's historic building inventory.' Planning documents stated that the new food hall has the potential to generate 30-40 full and part-time jobs. The Swords-based Wright Group secured planning for a food hall at St Andrew's Church in 2019 through its Mink Fusion subsidiary but with the Covid-19 pandemic intervening the firm did not proceed with the five-year planning permission. In a separate planning report lodged with the application by David Mulcahy Planning Consultants, it stated that the proposed new use 'will bring life back to this vacant building which is one of the most prominent buildings in the city'. Mulcahy stated that 'the concept of a food/dining hall, which is essentially a permanent indoor market with associated dining facilities, is well established in most European cities and they are very popular for tourists, city residents and local employees'. He said that the emphasis will be on showcasing local produce, fresh where possible, and all individual vendors will be required to provide a high quality offering.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin City Council gives go ahead for food hall at well known former church
Dublin City Council has given the green light to Fáilte Ireland for its planning application to set up a food hall at the vacant St Andrew's Church on Suffolk Street in central Dublin . The council has granted planning permission after concluding that the food hall would comply with the zoning objective of the site and would not detract from the area's civic character. Fáilte Ireland will not be operating the food hall itself. Instead, it will seek an operator to lease the space. [ Fáilte Ireland plans food hall at former Dublin church Opens in new window ] In a letter to Dublin City Council, Laura McCarthy from FailtFáilte Ireland proposed change of use for the premises has the potential to create a major centrally based asset for the city, with the potential to inject cultural and economic value which would benefit local residents, employees and all visitors, both domestic and foreign'. READ MORE Manager at Corporate Services at FailtFáilte IrelandMcCarthy pointed out that food tourism generates around €2 billion to the Irish economy each year. 'In order to generate and sustain further economic opportunity and economic development we need to create iconic food and drink experiences – the proposed change of use and redevelopment of St Andrew's would be the embodiment of that vision,' she said. 'It is envisaged that the proposed food hall will showcase the best of local and Irish produce within a very high-quality setting which will not only reinvigorate but repurpose part of our capital city's historic building inventory,' Ms McCarthy added. Planning documents stated that the new food hall has the potential to generate 30 to 40 full and part-time jobs. The Swords-based Wright Group secured planning for a food hall at St Andrews church in 2019 through its Mink Fusion subsidiary but with the Covid-19 pandemic intervening the firm did not proceed with the five year planning permission. In a separate planning report lodged with the application by David Mulcahy Planning Consultants, it stated that the proposed new use 'will bring life back to this vacant building which is one of the most prominent buildings in the city'.
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Green light for Fáilte Ireland food hall in Dublin 2
Dublin City Council has given the green light to Fáilte Ireland for its planning application to establish a food hall at the vacant St Andrew's Church on Suffolk Street in Dublin 2. The council has granted planning permission after concluding that the planned food hall would comply with the zoning objective of the site and would not detract from the area's civic character. Fáilte Ireland will not be operating the food hall itself but will now instead press ahead with its plans to seek an experienced operator to lease the space out for food hall use. In a letter to Dublin City Council, Laura McCarthy from Fáilte Ireland stated that "the proposed change of use for the premises has the potential to create a major centrally based asset for the city, with the potential to inject cultural and economic value which would benefit local residents, employees and all visitors, both domestic and foreign". Manager at Corporate Services at Fáilte Ireland Ms McCarthy pointed out that food tourism generates around €2 billion to the Irish economy each year. She said: "In order to generate and sustain further economic opportunity and economic development we need to create iconic food and drink experiences – the proposed change of use and redevelopment of St Andrew's would be the embodiment of that vision. Ms McCarthy adds: "It is envisaged that the proposed food hall will showcase the best of local and Irish produce within a very high-quality setting which will not only reinvigorate but repurpose part of our capital city's historic building inventory." Planning documents stated that the new food hall has the potential to generate 30-40 full and part time jobs. The Swords-based Wright Group secured planning for a food hall at St Andrews church in 2019through its Mink Fusion subsidiary but with the Covid-19 pandemic intervening the firm did not proceed with the five year planning permission. In a separate planning report lodged with the application by David Mulcahy Planning Consultants, it stated that the proposed new use "will bring life back to this vacant building which is one of the most prominent buildings in the city". Mr Mulcahy stated that "the concept of a food/dining hall, which is essentially a permanent indoor market with associated dining facilities, is well established in most European cities and they are very popular for tourists, city residents and local employees". He said that the emphasis will be on showcasing local produce, fresh where possible,and all individual vendors will be required to provide a high quality offering.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
National Guard deployment causes worry over New Mexico wildfire funds
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico has made national headlines for deploying the National Guard to help fight crime in Albuquerque. The controversial deployment has activists speaking out against the operation. Some worry that it will take critical dollars away from future emergencies, like wildfire management. 'It was very, very dry this winter, as everyone knows. The governor just last week issued an executive order on drought,' says New Mexico State Forrester Laura McCarthy. Forrester McCarthy warns that New Mexico is in the most dangerous part of the fire season. 'So fire spread is typically more extreme when you have daytime highs in the 95s and above. We're headed toward that,' McCarthy says. New Mexico governor authorizes $2.25M for National Guard operation in Albuquerque Even with the risk for massive fires being higher than ever, McCarthy isn't concerned that $2.25 million to pay for operation Zia Shield will have an impact on emergency response, which is something people against the deployment have raised concerns about. 'I have never seen us run out of money. So I don't see that there is competition between the use of the National Guard,' continued McCarthy. The state has an emergency contingency fund and a backup operational reserve fund to draw from when an emergency strikes. 'Historically, there hasn't been a year in an emergency. We've lived through COVID, Hermits Peak, Calf Canyon, you know, Ruidoso, followed by the Roswell flood, followed by snowstorms. And we haven't exhausted those funds,' said Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar. Albuquerque police outline National Guard's role in east Central operation Maj. Gen. Aguilar says in previous wildfire emergencies like Ruidoso, which required between 100-200 million to control, they had the necessary funding to tackle it. 'We'll continue to have conversations with, you know, from the executive side of the legislature and the legislative finance committee to ensure that New Mexico is postured as best we can, you know, to fill in whatever gaps we need,' continued Aguilar. Operation Zia Shield will deploy 77 guardsmen in the coming days. The operation is expected to last for at least six months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
