Four visits by companies to Laois so far this year may be an indication of a higher commitment from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland to the county, according to Deputy Brian Stanley.
The CEO of the IDA, Martin Shanahan and Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland (EI), met with elected representatives and management of Laois County Council on Friday.
Brian Stanley TD said: “This meeting with both the management teams along with the management of Laois County Council (LCC) provided an opportunity to have the relevant people in the one room to discuss the blocks to job creation in the county. Most importantly it offered the opportunity to them to outline what they think needs to happen locally and for the IDA and EI to commit to making greater progress.
“We have had years when not one single company was brought into Laois to consider it as a location for their business. A reply to a recent Dail question that I asked, put the number of new jobs in IDA backed companies in Laois at just 4 in 20017, with just a total of 119 working in these companies. Enterprise Ireland fared somewhat better with a gain of 109 jobs in firms that they supported,” Deputy Stanley said.
“The fact that the IDA had four companies visit Laois in just the first 6 weeks of this year may indicate a higher commitment now. Both bodies also stated a willingness to invest in a greater level of marketing and to make every effort to get a significant employment project located here,” he said.
Strong case
“We made a strong case for ‘the game to be upped’ and for annual reports on the efforts made and progress achieved over the coming years.
The situation where over 11,000 workers have to commute from the county each morning along with the numbers still unemployed is not sustainable. This needs to change and requires an all out effort,” Deputy Stanley said.
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