Factory closure may spark regional jobs crisis

JOBLESS figures in Waterford and the south-east are continuing to rise amid growing fears that the closure of Waterford Crystal’s Dungarvan plant may spark a jobs crisis in the region.

Latest live register figures show that there were 6,475 on the dole in the region last month, up from 6,261 the same month last year.

Though Dungarvan has experienced a slight drop in jobless numbers, the dole queues continue to lengthen in Waterford city.

In the city, there are 800 more signing on each week than there were three years ago. With Waterford Crystal seeking 485 redundancies at the end of the summer, there are fears that the unemployed will find it extremely hard to get work.

Mayor of Waterford Hilary Quinlan said he will be raising the issue with management at city hall when he returns to Waterford from a family bereavement in the North.

“This news is a major concern for me. We had an idea as a local authority that there were a lot of job losses in the region. There has been a pretty constant haemorrhage over the past three months. Once I return, I will be looking for a meeting with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to see what we can do,” he promised.

Fine Gael Senator Maurice Cummins says the trend is worrying, particularly with the crystal cuts looming. He’s renewed his appeal for a task force for the region, a call which has so far fallen on deaf ears.

“We have over 400 redundancies looming at Waterford Crystal which have not even fed into these figures yet,” he said yesterday. “That makes matters even worse. I think the Government needs to kick into action now.

“We need that task force that I called for several months ago. And we need to address this need for extra jobs in Waterford and the south-east now.

“Waterford city and county really seem to be falling behind the rest of the country,” he added.

The long-term outlook for Waterford looks very positive with a huge amount of development in and around the city planned over the coming months and years.

A Northern-based property developer who paid €32.9 million for rezones Waterford Crystal lands says he plans to create 1,000 full-time jobs over the next two to three years.

Newry property developer Gerard O’Hare wants to transform Ballybeg, bringing retail and warehousing development as well as hotel and leisure facilities to the area.