A website project for which it has received €35,000 in EU funding is behind schedule but will be completed, Trailblazer Publications has promised.
A contract to operate the website, aimed at tourists visiting the Barrow river valley, was awarded to the company in June last year by the South East Regional Authority (SERA), using funds provided under the EU Finestra project.
The project promotes development of small and medium enterprises in seven regions across the EU, and is administered in Ireland by SERA.
While the site, www.barrowrivervalley.com, is running, it is unable to cater for online bookings of accommodation and purchasing of craft items. The online service was a critical aspect of the project.
In a statement to The Irish Times, SERA said it had awarded the contract to Trailblazer after a tendering process.
The total value of the contract was €47,000, which was subject to stage payments.
As the bulk of the design and construction of the website had been completed, about 75 per cent of the contract price had been paid, it said.
Mr Chris Fleming, the chief executive of Trailblazer, said work on the website had been stalled at the direction of SERA and the BNS Leader group in Kilkenny, a partner of SERA in the project.
"It's going to be completed. It's up to them to decide how it will be completed," he said.
As well as the contract price, the project allowed Trailblazer to collect revenue from tourism operators featured on the site. Mr Tom Byrne, the director of SERA, said the amount the company could collect from any enterprise had been capped at €250.
He added that if the website was not completed, SERA had the option of taking it over and finding another operator.
