Fine Gael Waterford TD John Deasy and Fine Gael Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan held a meeting in Leinster House on Wednesday evening last for the party’s TDs and senators in the southeast, to discuss the unemployment crisis in the region with the Minister for Jobs and Enterprise Richard Bruton,
The meeting focused on the need for a dedicated university in the southeast. The presence of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in the region was also be discussed.
During the meeting Fine Gael reaffirmed the commitment, contained in the Programme for Government, to explore the establishment of a multi campus technical university in the South East
Speaking this week, Deputy Deasy said, “last week’s Talk Talk job losses have once again brought into sharp focus the severe unemployment problem facing the southeast. We have reached a crisis situation in Waterford city and the surrounding area, which has the highest regional unemployment rate in the country. The Government can take immediate action by progressing moves to set up a dedicated university in the southeast.”
Deputy Phelan added: “I will be raising the need for a university in the southeast and the issue of whether the presence of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in the region needs to be bolstered,
We are determined to see this process through to the end in the South East and we hope that the pace of negotiations picks up. We would encourage all stakeholders with an interest in seeing this come to fruition to publicly support the negotiations.
“The granting of university status for the South East will require more than just a name change, and it’s time we really got the process in motion,” Deputy Phelan concluded.
