Bruton says no to dedicated jobs plan for Kerry

A Kerry Fine Gael TD has been told by his party colleague Richard Bruton, the jobs minister, that his county cannot have a dedicated jobs plan.

Deputy Brendan Griffin asked Mr Bruton for a plan “similar to the one in place for the South East” to be put in place for Co Kerry “in view of the economic crisis in the county”.

He said there had been “total lack of foreign direct investment” in the county in recent years, a number of large employers had been lost without a Government- led response, and the county was suffering a significant unemployment and emigration problem.

Furthermore, Mr Griffin said Kerry was suffering from an unfavourable tax regime to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) compared to Co Limerick, and its FDI performance figures were being distorted by being included with Cork.

He also pointed to the poor road access to the county from Cork “via the substandard Ovens to Ballyvourney road and from Limerick via delays at Adare, Newcastle West, and Abbeyfeale”.

Mr Bruton said he had initiated a jobs plan for the South East following the announcement of almost 600 job losses at Talk Talk in Waterford in Sept 2011.

“The unemployment rate in the region has remained stubbornly high and has been consistently above the national average for many years,” he said.

“I believe the problem is particularly pronounced in Waterford county and city.

“The number of un-employment blackspots in Waterford has remained constant in the period 1996- 2006, whereas other urban areas such as Dublin and Cork have seen sharp decreases. It is clear that the solution to this problem requires focused action.”

He said as a result of the jobs plan, the South East region had benefited from a number of significant jobs announcements.

“Notwithstanding the success of this initiative, I consider that it is neither practicable nor effective to establish jobs task forces or specific jobs plans around the country as a general mechanism to address high unemployment.

“I believe that to embark on such a course would involve diverting the various State agencies from their ongoing efforts to create jobs.”

He said that although Kerry has seen a number of company closures, IDA Ireland continues to compete for high-quality investments there.