IDA ‘not washing its hands of south-east’

THE IDA is not “washing its hands” of Waterford and any money used from the sale of assets in the area is being ploughed back into job creation in the region, the agency says.

The overseas jobs agency has been accused by a member of Waterford City Council of turning its back on the area. But regional director Brian Conroy said there has never been more focus on job creation and investment in Waterford and across the south-east region.

Independent city councillor Davy Daniels made his comments after it emerged that another IDA chief who had been invited to attend the council on two occasions was being asked to set his own time and date for such a session, given the difficulties in arranging the meeting.

“It would seem to me that the IDA policy regarding Waterford is all over the place, despite the efforts of the city council. The last occasion we had an official from the IDA here we asked them if the IDA was selling off property in the city.

“The answer we got was no. But substantial amounts of property are being sold off. It seems to me that they are trying to wash their hands of Waterford,” Mr Daniels said at Monday’s council meeting.

However, Mr Conroy said the sale of property is part of a national strategy and not unique to Waterford.

“For a number of years the IDA has not been involved in owning factories or buildings. It is up to the private sector to build them.

“We have disposed of properties all over Ireland as part of that policy, including in Waterford. But the money raised is being reinvested in our property portfolio and in landbanks.

“We are working very hard to bring new industry into the region. We do recognise that there is a difficulty in Dungarvan in relation to Waterford Crystal.

“The closure of the plant was a huge blow. We are working hard to get new industry into the region,” he added.

The future looks brighter for the south-east than it has for a long time. Several major infrastructural projects, key among them the new route to Dublin, will be a huge boost and significantly improve the area’s appeal, Mr Conroy said.