Mayor appeals for unemployment blackspot to be tackled by Martin

UNEMPLOYMENT grew in Waterford last month while the numbers of jobs created in other gateway cities soared.

Latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show a worrying trend in Waterford and the South East, a region which has outstripped the midlands and west as one of the country’s biggest unemployment blackspots.

Numbers signing on the live register in Waterford have increased marginally, by 136, over this time last year. Mayor Séamus Ryan says it’s time for the attention and resources focused previously on the Border, Midlands and West, BMW, region, to be switched to Waterford.

“The figures speak for themselves. We are the only gateway which lost jobs.

“It is critical now that we address the matter. In urban areas within our county, unemployment is running at twice the national average. I would be hopeful and I would ask the Enterprise Minister, Micheal Martin, to now make Waterford the focus of his attention, as well as the whole South East region. Supports for small industry need to be improved and we can no longer just rely on multinationals as the answer to our prayers. We also have to have more supports and avenues for those who are out of work or want a second chance at education. I’ve just come from the VTOS vocational training awards and the work being done through them is remarkable. Such programmes need more support.”

The mayor said that while larger industries continue to flourish in the region, small companies in particular need more support and better help.

“Its time now that we take a very critical look at where we are going in the future.

“When national figures such as these CAO statistics are published, they often hide up unemployment blackspots.

“We can’t allow them to be hidden any longer and we have to tackle the problem,” he said.

The IDA regionally said that it has a significant landbank available in the region and is actively promoting such assets to a number of interested parties.