No small firms have used new Monksland hub in 10 months since official opening

Ten months after it was officially opened by a Government Minister, the new €4.2 million Monksland Innovation Hub building in Athlone has not yet been used by any small or start-up businesses.

Last May, the 14,000 square foot premises at Daneswell Business Park was officially opened by then-Minister Heather Humphreys, who said it would provide "co-working and training facilities, and a soft landing space for companies starting out".

The official opening took place shortly before the local elections in June, but in the ten months since then construction work has been continuing on part of the State-funded building, and no small or budding companies have yet had an opportunity to use it.

The biopharmaceutical firm Alkermes is to lease the first floor of the building, which is still under construction, and the multinational company has been using the ground floor of the premises while that building work has been underway.

A Roscommon County Council spokesperson confirmed to the Westmeath Independent that it agreed last summer to allow Alkermes rent the ground floor of the building "on a short term basis," and that the company would soon be leasing the first floor, with construction work on that floor expected to conclude this month.

Council official Sean Mullarkey said the ground floor of the premises would then "operate as an innovation hub," and that the local authority was "currently showing the ground floor to small, start-up companies and individuals with a view to renting out spaces in the innovation hub from April or May 2025."

The Monksland Innovation Hub was developed with funding of €3.2 million from the Government's Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, and an additional sum of more than €1 million from Roscommon County Council.

Local Fianna Fáil councillor John Keogh said he was aware of the work that had been taking place on the building, and that he had hoped the first floor would have been completed sooner in order for the ground floor to then be made available to smaller firms.

“I know there are others that would like to utilise the facility, and there have been approaches made in relation to trying to utilise it, but Alkermes have the ground floor until the upstairs is completed,” said Cllr Keogh.

He said he was keen to see the use of the building as an innovation hub commence in the near future.

“It was never intended to be a facility for just one company,” said Cllr Keogh.

“It’s an innovation hub for start-ups, and for ‘hot desking’ as well, where people might want to come in and utilise the facility there... that is the intention behind it. And I do want to see it progressed.”

Speaking earlier this month at the Roscommon Local Enterprise Awards, county council CEO Shane Tiernan described Alkermes as the “anchor tenant” of the Monksland Innovation Hub.

He said the building was “nearing completion and has already secured an anchor tenant.”

“The small business incubation area will provide space for start-up businesses. Not only this, but the hub will also support small growth-oriented innovative businesses and this investment will help drive the continued economic growth not only of the south of the county, but the entire region,” said Mr Tiernan.

A spokesperson for Alkermes told the Westmeath Independent this week that the company was “excited to lease the first floor above the Monksland Innovation Hub” and that approximately 50 people would be working there.

Alkermes, which merged with Elan in 2011, has been based in Monksland for many years, but its larger manufacturing facility there was sold to another company, Novo Nordisk, last year.

Ryan Hand, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications at Alkermes, said it had been working in collaboration with Roscommon County Council to “provide modern, high-quality offices for our Midlands-based employees” in the Innovation Hub building.

“We plan to take up occupancy this spring, and are thankful to have partnered with the Roscommon County Council to create this space,” he said.

He added that the company’s employees in Monsksland would be “working to provide essential support to Alkermes’ operations” as a global biopharmaceutical company.

“Our teams at the Monksland building will include employees working in Human Resources, Regulatory Affairs, IT, Learning and Development, Legal, Finance, Quality, Project Management and Operations.

“This building will also house many of our Ireland-based senior leaders,” he added.

When asked about Alkermes’ long-term plans for its Monksland base, Mr Hand said: “Alkermes is deeply appreciative of the hospitality shown to our company by the local community.

“Following the sale of our manufacturing facility to Novo Nordisk last year, we are proud to have made this significant investment into the community to create space for our employees in the region working to support our global operations.

“We expect the space will meet our needs for the foreseeable future, however, we will keep this under review as our business continues to evolve,” he concluded.