Kerry becoming an industrial wasteland, says SIPTU official

AMID claims that Kerry is becoming an industrial wasteland, state agencies were called on yesterday to help existing industries, which are under pressure, to become more competitive.

According to Tralee-based SIPTU official Andrew McMcCarthy, up to 1,000 jobs have been lost through closures and redundancies in Kerry in recent years.

He also claimed state development agencies were not doing enough to attract or strengthen industries.

“We have quite strong food-based and engineering industries and there should be a big focus on developing these,” he stated.

Mr McCarthy instanced the success of food companies, such as Kerry Group plc, Lee Strand Co-op, Tralee, and the Cadbury (Ireland) factory in Rathmore.

Major engineering concerns would include the Liebherr plant, which has been in Killarney since the late 1950s and which employs over 400 and Tillotson, Tralee.

Senior IDA officials have met with Kerry County Council to discuss the jobs situation and the main message from them was that the future lay in knowledge-based operations and not in manufacturing, as had traditionally been the case.

But, Mr McCarthy said, there should be a mix of industries and more should be done to help established industries to upskill and adapt quickly to changing conditions in the market place.

He also said that following a series of factory closures, the situation was now ‘fairly stable’ in the county.

Among the industries that have closed in Kerry are Sara Lee, Transmould and Scott tools, all in Killarney, Sports Socks, Caherciveen and Tralee, and Imperial Stag, Listowel. Also, Alps Electric transferred its 300-job operation from Killarney to Millstreet, Co Cork.

IDA regional manager Conor Healy said they would have to continue strengthening the local infrastructure in Kerry and support ongoing developments at the Institute of Technology, Tralee, to ensure the availability of a skilled labour pool.

He also said there had been some recent successes among IDA-backed companies in Kerry, with Dollinger, Killarney, and Fujisawa, Killorglin, expanding their operations and Liebherr investing in high research and development at its Killarney crane-manufacturing plant.

As well as skills and a well-educated workforce, IDA area director Emmanuel Dowdall said a state-of-the-art infrastructure was needed to attract business to the country and the different regions.

Cllr Michael Healy-Rae said if construction collapsed, unemployment levels would go through the roof.

“Construction is keeping South Kerry going, at present, but that can’t last forever either,” he warned.