Government Ministers are in Waterford City this afternoon to meet with those impacted by the fire at the Tycor Business Centre. The Enterprise Minister, Peter Burke said an independent investigation is underway into the blaze in the city over the weekend.
The fire ripped through the Old Jute factory throughout Saturday night, causing damage to more than 30 businesses. Minister Burke says the Government is assessing the scale of the damage, before supports will be announced; He said “the facts have to be established, it’s important to find out what has happend on the ground and who is impacted”
His colleague, Waterford Minister, John Cummins said there is an absolute determination to deal with the situation in real time. He described the fire as ” an exceptional event” saying it was important to acknowledge the huge amout of work that has taken place over the last 72 hours.
He said that an independent assessor is continuing to carry out air quality controls and monitoring at the site in Tycor. Minister Cummins said that monitoring had begun on Sunday and has been ongoing on a four hourly basis through yesterday. He said ” no elevated levels of asbestos have been determined in the air”
The site of the fire remains sealed off.
Business support scheme for Tycor Business Park
Following the fire at the Local Enterprise Office Waterford (LEO) and Waterford City and County Council’s Economic Development and Community departments, in co-ordination with government agencies, are providing a structured response to support the businesses that were affected by the Fire.
Working closely with relevant stakeholders, such as the Department of Social Protection Intreo Centre Waterford, and Buíon Phort Láirge, The Tycor Back to Business Support Scheme is designed to ensure that appropriate supports are made available to affected businesses and organisations, and that recovery efforts are aligned across all relevant services.
As an immediate priority, a comprehensive assessment of businesses, social enterprises, and community groups will be undertaken by Waterford City and County Council’s Economic Development department to establish the full extent of the impact.
This will involve direct engagement with those affected to identify key issues such as physical damage, job losses, insurance gaps, and operational requirements. These insights will enable the departments and agencies to develop appropriate supports to assist organisations in getting back to business.
In parallel, Local Enterprise Office Waterford will provide mentoring and advisory supports to assist businesses and social enterprises in navigating the recovery process, including identifying and applying for appropriate supports.
Businesses, social enterprises and community groups located within the Tycor Business Park can provide information at https://submit.link/4VP or contact the Economic Development Team at Waterford City and County Council on 051 849655 or 051 849993.
