Kerry county councillors today accepted a proposal from the Kerry Group aimed at saving the Jeanie JohnstonFamine replica ship project.
The Kerry Group proposed it would partner the Shannon development company, SFADCo, and the Kerry County Council and Tralee Urban Council, to form a company to manage the project.
The firm involved in the project, the Jeanie Johnston had been given a two-week reprieve to get the best deal for creditors at the beginning of the month. Otherwise the project would be put into immediate liquidation.
After a four-hour debate today the Kerry councillors accepted the Kerry Group’s plan. The other parties are meeting tonight to consider the offer and it is widely believed they will accept the plan.
The plan was devised to put the project on a new footing to ensure its success, Mr Frank Hayes of the Kerry Group.
"Despite the issues surrounding the building and finance of the ship, it is an exceptional product," Mr Hayes. The board of the new company would consist of two nominees from SFADCo, two nominees from the Councils and two nominees from the Kerry Group. Each of the three partners would contribute €200,000 to ensure the project could continue until the end of the year.
Under the plan the ship would continue its short-term sailing schedule which includes a re-visit Cork, then sail to Dublin, Belfast and La Corona in Northern Spain.
The new board would decide on the long-term plan for the ship, including the completion of its North American programme, Mr Hayes said.