Las Vegas Style Casino in Rural Ireland?

A full size White House Replica is to be part of a large scale casino complex development scheme, in Tipperary. The Replica is to be used as a banqueting hall for functions and Weddings, in a development that seems more suited to the Las vegas Strip than rural Ireland. The Scheme, which is located miles from public transport and in a very rural community outside the village of Two-Mile-Borris, County Tipperary, is likely to create many issues. The development is set to include a 500 room hotel, 6,000 square metre casino, an all weather race course, greyhound track, golf course, retail units and even a Heliport on an 800 acre site. Issues of sustainability coupled with, traffic congestion, noise and carbon pollution along with the “Disnification” element of a Fantasy Land, very much in the Las Vegas style of Casino’s make for an interesting debate. This is a very controversial development in Ireland which has recently being granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanala, which deals with all planning appeals in Ireland. The final hurdle for this development to take place is the Oireachtas passing proposed legislation to enable the opening of casino’s, which currently only operate as small scale members clubs in Ireland (assuming no High Court action is to be taken by any third parties). The other argument is the undoubted benefit to the local economy in the long term along with job creation from construction in the short term. What do you think?



