The future is bright for Carlow with the South East Action Plan for Jobs – Deering

“The future is bright for Carlow with the County to benefit from the South East Action Plan for Jobs”, says Fine Gael TD for Carlow/Kilkenny, Pat Deering. Deputy Deering was speaking after Minister Bruton launched the South East Action Plan for Jobs (today) Monday.

“Since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012, over 125,000 jobs have been added to the Irish economy. The South East region was hit really hard in the crash and I know not everyone in Carlow is feeling the benefits of the recovery quiet yet, and so it is great now that Carlow is being included in this €250 million dedicated jobs plan.

“Minister Bruton estimates that the South East Action Plan for Jobs could see the creation of 25,000 extra jobs in the region, a 10-15% growth in employment. Key sectors to be targeted for this employment growth include agri-food, tourism, life sciences, manufacturing, retail and financial services/business services.

“Carlow will also benefit from job creation in surrounding counties and new jobs are being announced today with Bluefin Payment Sysytems in Waterford and CipherTechs in Kilkenny. For every 10 Enterprise Ireland jobs created 10 more are supported in the rest of the economy, while 10 IDA jobs support a further 7 jobs. This is good for small and medium size businesses throughout Carlow which will benefit. Additional job creation in the region means increased prosperity for all and local businesses do better.

“In order for Carlow to feed this growing jobs market I want to see progress now on the proposed South East University. The recent Kelly report said there is no alternative to a merger between Carlow and Waterford Institutes of Technology and I urge the two colleges to work together now to progress the project as soon as possible. A technology university for the region will secure long term employment and ensure the creation of high quality graduates in key sectors, who are in high demand.”