North Kilkenny councillor John Brennan addressed the first meeting of the Kilkenny County Development Board recently as chairman of the board and during his opening address he called for finance to be made available to small businesses.
Cllr Brennan acknowledged the major challenges that lie ahead during his term of office and he added those challenges will no doubt be the greatest ever that the board will have to take on.
“My major priority will be to lead the way for this board in the creation of much-needed jobs for the thousands who are unemployed in this county.
“The number of people on the dole in Kilkenny is now at an all time high. The latest live register figure for the county is 6,832. And that figure is a 162 per cent increase over the past two years.”
Cllr Brennan added that the first priority must be to safeguard existing jobs and then focus on the creation of new ones.
“This task cannot be carried out by this board alone. But we can play a role in lobbying Government on a number of key issues. Firstly, employers must be assisted in the creation of jobs such as PRSI exemption or a wage subsidy of €6,000 for the first two years.
“We must also seek the reduction of energy costs and the reduction of VAT rates.
“I would also call on the banks to make finance available for small businesses who are the life-blood of the economy in Kilkenny. But above all, we must ensure that we will have the political leadership that is necessary to make the tough but fair decisions for the good of this county and this country.”
