Urgent action is required to tackle the jobs crisis in Castlebar town according to Noreen Heston as she calls upon the Town Council to act without delay in putting a plan in place to address the situation. A cohesive package must be put in place involving all the appropriate state agencies including FÁS and the IDA, said Ms Heston.
“Keeping business local should be an inherent part of the strategy. In these economic times local service providers including those in construction are offering value for money. These opportunities should be taken up. State and semi-State projects which are incomplete or those which have not yet commenced should be put out to tender and commenced as soon as possible. In addition public private partnerships should be encouraged. Local businesses must also play a role. They should do all they can to keep their prices competitive. In this way shoppers will have the incentive to shop local and support local enterprise. VAT rates must also be re-examined and we must do all we can to encourage the Government to review its policy in this regard.
“Up-skilling the labour force should be prioritised and every effort made to ensure that the GMIT campus remains open for business. By acting together and devising a cohesive strategy to deal with the problem we can prevent it deepening and hopefully turn a corner,” she concluded.
