Council to seek answers over promised creation of 40 R&D Longford jobs

Council officials are awaiting a report from Longford based bakery company Panelto Foods after a deal in April 2018 saw the local authority offload its LEDCO building to the local firm.

That deal was rubber-stamped at the time subject to two main caveats.

The first surrounded the insertion of a provision which took account of the buyer's vacant possession requests while the second allowed for the Council to reclaim control over the building within three years in the event of the company's expected plans not going ahead.

Speaking at the time, Fianna Fáil Cllr Seamus Butler requested for a “sunset clause” to be inserted into the building’s sale providing for the its return to Longford County Council in the event Panelto’s plans failed to materialise.

In raising the topic at last week’s monthly meeting of Longford County Council, Seamus Butler said the time had come for clarity to be given over the issue.

“It was sold with the specific clause in that around 40 to 50 full time R&D jobs were to be created within a five year scenario or we can have a clawback on the sale of that building,” he said.

“The idea was we used this building as a new centre that would take up where Ledco left off and provide maybe even further services.”

Chief executive of Longford County Council Paddy Mahon said he and his officials had been in contact with Panelto and were currently awaiting a report on the matter.