Unemployment figures in County Wexford continue to be alarmingly high when compared to the National average. Figures recently released show that the national unemployment rate has fallen below 5%, which in itself is a positive national development. However, former TD and current MEP Mick Wallace has highlighted this on his Twitter account that the unemployment rate for Co.Wexford is a very concerning 13%, almost 3 times higher than the national average.
This leads one to question why County Wexford being left behind in this regard?
One possible reason is that the body charged with the task of attracting foreign investment and employment into Ireland, the IDA, appear to have little regard for Co.Wexford. In fact, official figures show that Co.Wexford is one of the counties most neglected in terms of IDA support.
As a county with excellent road access to Dublin, and a facility with the potential of Rosslare Europort, one would surmise that Wexford offers many advantages which should make us a sought after location for foreign investment. Unfortunately, government and IDA policy does not appear to reflect that, despite county Wexford being the largest county in the South East region.
Another example of Wexford being left behind is in the percentage of freight traffic through Rosslare Europort, which is steadily decreasing, compared with other ports. Furthermore, there are no facilities at Rosslare Europort for freight trains to operate, despite the port being owned by Irish Rail, and a key cross country rail link between Rosslare, Waterford and Limerick was closed over 10 years ago, due to the lack of development and interest.
These unemployment figures and IDA visit figures appear to show that, although Wexford has the natural potential to thrive, the will may be absent.
These figures really shine a spotlight and should put pressure on our political representatives, particularly those Government ministers, who are elected by the people of Co.Wexford to be advocates for the county and to ensure that the conditions are there for the County to prosper.
County Wexford needs investment in jobs. Economic activity is the creator and the sustainer of jobs. It will be interesting to see how our elected representatives will react to this very concerning employment news, or will they remain silent?
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