Waterford City and County Council to support Mount Congreve with €750,000 loan

Elected members of Waterford City and County Council have approved the issuing of a €750,000 loan to Mount Congreve to support its ongoing efforts in developing and sustaining the renowned gardens.

Located close to Kilmeaden, Mount Congreve is managed by a Trust comprising of voluntary Board members nominated by the Council and the funding will assist the Trust in completing capital works for additional accommodation units and in covering cash-flow losses suffered this year.

In recommending the loan to the Council, Sean McKeown, Chief Executive of the local authority reassured the elected members that this decision would not negatively impact the delivery of Council services.

In doing so, he emphasised that the funding would be sourced from an underspend to date this year in both the Council's revenue and capital budgets. This arises from savings from a number of areas, including unfilled staff vacancies and delays in the delivery of some capital projects.

The Chief Executive informed the Council that Mount Congreve is currently facing significant financial challenges, due to lower-than-expected visitor numbers, owing mainly to the relatively poor weather this summer, and higher than forecasted operating costs.  He said there are upwards of 30 people employed at Mount Congreve.

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Mr. McKeown acknowledged the decision was a challenging one for the elected members, but he asserted his firm belief this was the right course of action. He said Mount Congreve is recognised by Failte Ireland as a ‘catalyst project’ for regional tourism development.

Welcoming the Council's decision, the Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr. Jason Murphy said: "I am delighted the funding will enable completion of the accommodation units, which will provide Mount Congreve with a critical additional revenue stream. Tourism is a critical sector for Waterford, and we want to enhance the contribution of the sector to our local economy. This funding demonstrates our ongoing commitment to growing tourism in Waterford."

Waterford City and County Council currently provides an annual subvention of €100,000 per annum towards the operation of Mount Congreve and the level of subvention for next year will be considered by the elected members as part of the budget discussions for 2025, which get underway in earnest next month.