FF cynical tactics do little to promote job growth in Offaly – Corcoran Kennedy

Fine Gael TD and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has, today (Tuesday) criticised Fianna Fáil’s politically motivated and disingenuous comments about jobs in the midlands.

“I find it a bit rich of Fianna Fáil to criticise job creation in the midlands when the fact of the matter is that this Government took over at a time when the economy had nose-dived and Offaly was haemorrhaging jobs; they reduced by a third between 2008 and 2010 and many of the jobs lost were positions created through the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), the agency responsible for overseas inestment.

“IDA jobs have increased, albeit at a modest pace, under this Fine Gael led government. There is no doubt there is more work to be done and I intend to continue to advocate for Laois/Offaly as an excellent location for IDA investment.

“However, it is also important to bear in mind that IDA jobs account for less than 10% of jobs around the country. 91% of all employment is in non-IDA areas of activity. We must work on these areas as well as on those where IDA Ireland attracts investment.

“The Government has prioritised regional economic development as part of its 2014 Action Plan for Jobs, through the development of a regional enterprise strategy, a new regional aid map and the establishment of the network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). In 2013, for the first time in many years, every region experienced employment expansion. It is noteworthy that this included the midlands.

“Unemployment and emigration have been very real problems in Offaly in recent years. Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of local people we are moving into a new phase of recovery, but I know that too many people continue to struggle in their daily lives.

“It is unhelpful and cynical of Fianna Fáil to use the vulnerable position many people find themselves in as a political tactic. What the people of Offaly need is not self-interested politicians trying to promote their own agenda, but hard working public representatives intent on delivering for the people of the local area. As Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, this is exactly what I intend to do.”