Clare County Council has announced that it has received a financial package of proposed measures that will facilitate the takeover of the popular tourist attractions.
These include Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, The Cliffs of Moher retail outlet, Knappogue Castle and walled garden, and Craggaunowen Bronze age park.
It brings to a close almost two years of wrangling over who would take over and manage the assets of Shannon heritage, originally owned by The Shannon Airport Group.
But the package has yet to be put to Clare councillors for approval, which is due to happen later this week.
Limerick County Council has already taken over the management and running of a former asset, King Johns Castle in Limerick, which had attracted over 100,000 visitors pre-pandemic.
It has been anticipated that Clare County Council would take over the attractions in its county after The Shannon Airport Group moved to shed its tourism portfolio to concentrate solely on restoring passenger numbers at the airport and the expansion of its property portfolio at the Shannon industrial zone.
Tourist attractions were hit significantly by the pandemic in which all such visitor locations were shut.
Prior to the pandemic, the popular Bunratty Castle and Folk Park attracted up to 350,000 visitors a year with its nightly banquets, which were very popular among US and European tourists.
However, after conducting a due diligence process about the transfer in 2021, Clare County Council identified significant neglect of the sites, that some had deteriorated further in the absence of activity and that considerable investment would be needed to halt this, estimated to be around €15m.
There was also considerable concern about the fate of the 200 workers at Shannon Heritage and whether their employment rights would be protected in any transfer.
In December, the council said that despite constructive talks with all parties and good faith on all sides, it was unable to proceed with the proposed takeover in the absence of any funding commitment from the Government and a resolution to outstanding elements of the legal agreement between it and The Shannon Airport Group
The council said the takeover in that climate would have had a significant impact on the council's services and commercial business.
However, after further talks over the past three months, the council announced it had received a financial support package from the Government to facilitate the transfer of the Clare assets of Shannon Heritage from The Shannon Airport Group to the Local Authority.
Its understood €6m will be provided to the council to assist them in taking over and run the sites this year, with further funding likely to come from the Office of Public Works over 2024 and 2025.
The council said the multi-annual support package will be presented to elected members of Clare County Council for their consideration in the coming days and that discussions between Clare County Council, The Shannon Airport Group and the Department of Housing regarding regulatory issues are ongoing.
The council said it wishes to acknowledge the cooperation of the Government in working with the local authority and The Shannon Airport Group to enable the proposed transfer.
Clare County Council also said it acknowledges that Bunratty, Craggaunowen, Knappogue and the Cliffs of Moher gift shop are integral to the overall tourism product offering in Clare.
