THE country's latest conference centre is set to be located in the mid-west region.
The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism has confirmed it is considering the development of a conference centre in the Limerick/Clare area.
Such a facility could be worth hundreds of millions annually to the local economy.
A location between Limerick city and nearby Shannon Airport is being mooted for the 2,000-plus capacity venue but the department will first undertake a feasibility study over the coming weeks.
"At this time, the plan is for the feasibility study to commence in the near future," said a spokesman for the department.
Tourism and business interests in the mid-west will be consulted about the construction of a centre as a public-private partnership.
The chief executive of Meet Limerick-Shannon, John Fahey, acknowledged that a purpose-built facility of the scale suggested would "represent a huge economic boost" for the region.
Mr Fahey hopes businesses would switch to the mid-west rather than holding conferences and events in Dublin.
"The minimum stay for business conferences would be three days and the average spend is about €1,500 per person so it would represent a huge economic boost for the region," he added.
"I couldn't say at this stage whether it would be full every day but it would still be huge for the region."
Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
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