Government ‘failing city’ a year after Dell blow

AS Limerick today marks a black first anniversary of the Dell closure announcement with the loss of 2,000 jobs, the Government was accused of failing to make any meaningful response to the unemployment crisis in the city.

The last 100 workers at the computer manufacturing facility in Raheen will be laid off by the month’s end. Fine Gael deputy finance spokesman Kieran O’Donnell said that up to the end of 2009, not one IDA-backed job was created in the city.

“By contrast, in 2009 Cork saw 870 new IDA backed jobs, Dublin saw 965, Kildare 500, Galway 171 and Donegal had 80.

“In the past year, the entire region, including Limerick, north Tipperary, north Kerry and Clare has seen one single new investment announcement through the IDA.

“This was the announcement of 134 jobs in the expansion of Intel’s facility in Shannon, which was made in February of last year. It is now over 10 months since that announcement.

“During this period, the Midwest Jobs Taskforce Interim Report stated that the rate of long-term unemployment in the midwest is 2.1%, higher than the state average of 1.3%.”

Mr O’Donnell said the live register for Limerick increased from 14,030 at the start of 2009 to 20,700 at the end of November.

Mr O’Donnell said the number of IDA-facilitated visits by firms potentially investing in Limerick was only 18, compared to 35 in 2007 and a paltry nine in 2008.

He added: “Yet the jobs lost in Dell were IDA-backed. Furthermore, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has stated that she will not be resourcing the recommendations of the interim report of the taskforce under Denis Brosnan and we still do not know how much finance Limerick Regeneration will receive for 2010.”

He said that the EU globalisation funding for former Dell workers did not appear to be up and running.

“We do not know how this money can be availed of by workers, or when or how it will come onstream.”