Anger over lack of IDA visits to Dungarvan

DUNGARVAN, which lost almost 400 jobs last year, has only received one IDA site visit over that time, new figures show.

Data obtained by Fine Gael TD John Deasy shows that Dungarvan has received only four site visits from the IDA since 2002.

This compares to 39 site visits to Waterford city in the same period.

The Inter-Agency Forum set up to attract additional industry to Dungarvan due to the closure of Waterford Crystal has also not been successful, almost a full year after its inception.

“We are being completely ignored by government.

“To put this in perspective, we’ve had only one site visit from the IDA since the Waterford Crystal factory closed last year. There have been 12 to Waterford city.

“This information compounds the growing opinion that this government treats Dungarvan and the west of the county as an afterthought,” he said.

Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Micheal Martin, confirmed that the figures quoted by Deputy Deasy were correct. “As the Gateway location for the South-East region IDA Ireland is seeking to develop Waterford City as a first-class location for overseas investment with the necessary infrastructure, skills availability and support services capable of attracting investment into Waterford and the entire region.

“In Dungarvan, the agency owns 35 acres of land, adjacent to its Industrial Park in the town. Phase 1 of the site development has been completed and the first client has been secured,” he said.

He was confident the strategies and policies being pursued by these agencies, together with the ongoing commitment by government to regional development and the National Development Plan, would bear fruit in terms of investment and jobs for the people of Waterford, Dungarvan and the region as a whole.