This article is from page 18 of the 2011-11-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
CLARE County Council is to meet with Shannon Development, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to discuss the delivery of job creation projects.
A decision to hold a briefing with the agencies was made by the council yesterday, after Fine Gael councillor Gabriel Keating expressed concern about the high unemployment levels that currently prevail.
Cllr Keating told the meeting that Clare should be prioritised as a location for foreign direct investment projects.
“Many west Clare communities are being wiped out,” he said.
He said that GAA clubs were suffering due to emigration, while unemployment in Kilrush had risen to 261 at the end of October.
“We need foreign direct investment projects to be set up,” he said.
“We need a co-ordinated approach,” said Cllr Keating, adding that a meeting should take place “before it is too late, if we have any chance of keeping our young people in the county”.
“I believe the IDA made 11 site visits to the county this year. While this is welcome, I want to see a greater spread,” he said.
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Kelly said that “the exact same problem” exists in north Clare as was described in west Clare. “If people haven’t employment, they will not stay in the area,” he said.
“We will have no communities. The fabric of communities is being broken down,” he said.
Independent councillor PJ Ryan said that finance should be put in place in an effort to attract foreign direct investment. “Forty factory units in the industrial estate in Shannon at the moment are empty,” he said.
Fine Gael councillor Joe Arkins said the issue of job creation should remain on the council’s agenda at all monthly meetings.
“Rural Ireland is getting more and more isolated,” he said.
Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Keane said, “The only way jobs will be created is if people in their own county get together and examine every possibility that’s there.”
Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn said that in 1841, there were 284,000 people in Clare; in 1996 there were 97,000 but this has risen substantially in the past 15 years due to employment prospects. He said he fears of a similar decline as occurred in the past. “We need to use our resources on the west coast,” he said.
His party colleague Cllr Seán McLoughlin said, “We have too many agencies. The banks are going to have to be more liberal. People are willing to start small businesses but they just can’t get finance.”
Another Fine Gael councillor, Joe Cooney, said it was “very disappointing to see so many young people out of this country or to see young people at home with no jobs to go to”.