County Roscommon had one or less IDA site visit in Q3 2018 which covers July to September with nearly 1 in 2 IDA visits concentrated in the Greater Dublin Area.
According to deputy Eugene Murphy, “As a result rural Ireland is being ignored and losing out on potential investment opportunities”.
Deputy Murphy was commenting after his party received a PQ reply from Minister Humphreys which confirmed that the IDA is ignoring rural Ireland by not bringing multinationals to visit.
“Parliamentary reply data received from Minister Humphreys show that of the 461 IDA site visits for the first nine months of 2018, nearly 1 in 2 visits were concentrated in the Greater Dublin Area.
“Fine Gael may point to reduced unemployment in the Midlands and border region, but most of the new jobs created are either part time or based in Dublin. We see very few new, well-paying jobs located in the regions anymore.
“Worryingly, 10 counties including County Roscommon had one or less IDA site visit in Q3 2018 which covers July to September. Communities in Laois, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Carlow, Kilkenny and Roscommon are being left behind by the Government’s industrial strategy.
“Indeed Fine Gael governments have a consistent record of ignoring the regions. Between 2011 and 2017, 48% of all IDA site visits were to the Greater Dublin Area.
“There have been no major jobs announcements for Co Roscommon- the facts speak for themselves- County Roscommon only had a total of two IDA visits up to Q 3 in 2018, we had three IDA site visits in 2017 and only one visit in 2016 and two in 2015 which is really abysmal.
“A lack of quality broadband in many parts of rural Ireland is also a major stumbling block. Companies will not move to, invest in, or support rural counties if they cannot get high quality broadband.
“Unless this Government gets its act together, rural Ireland will continue on this downward spiral. Communities will decline and our young people will continue to head to larger towns and cities in search of work. Fine Gael will continue to spin the line that economic growth is hitting the regions, but’s clear that a two-tier recovery is still being felt across the country,” concluded Deputy Murphy.
