This article is from page 95 of the 2008-12-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 95 JPG
A LEADING Clare constrution com- pany has revealed they have business worth €10 milion lined up which may have to be put on ice because of the credit squeeze.
And following reports in The Clare People last week that migrant wotk- ers are giving up on the Celtic Tiger and going home, a Clare councillor has called for planners to cut de- velopers some slack to keep skilled
people here.
Keco’s Bernard Bartley say they have millions worth of building work lined up, but , he warned, a lack of credit means many lucrative projects are being put on the back burner .
‘We would have work lined up for next year that would be worth €10 million but the banks are not giving out money and until they start lend- ing again, it will cause problems.
Last week, a Lithuanian company held jobs fairs here to encourage for-
eign nationals who came to Ireland to seek work to return home.
And Orla Ni Eili of Clare’s Im- migrant Suport Service, said that the service has seen “a lot of people leaving and some planning to leave. Work is much harder to get now, par- ticularly in the building trade.”
Labour councillor, Pascal Fitzger- ald has called on the planners in Clare County Council to do their ut- most to grant planning permissions and keep skilled craftsmen from
leaving the country.
“I’m concerned about the number of skilled young people who are head- ing for the airport every day to take off for Australia and other places where they can find work”, he said.
The councillor said that while he understands there has been a huge drop in the number of planning ap- plications which are coming before the council, where at all possible, he has asked that the planners give per- misssions.
Further eveidence of the slump in the building trade emerged last week when Killaloe builders, Tom Hayes Ltd, commented that building com- panies have “no option” but to let Staff go”.
Meanwhile, the Mid West Branch of the Construction Industry Federa- tion (CIF) has stated it is “delighted with the decision taken by their ex- ecutive to unanimously reject the na- tional pay agreement and seek a 10 per cent reduction in pay rates.