Government must do more to bring jobs to Westmeath – Penrose

Willie Penrose, TD for Longford/Westmeath has called on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the IDA to outline how they plan to foster employment in Mullingar following Imperial Tobacco closing down.

“In light of Imperial Tobacco closing down, it is vital now that we see high-quality jobs brought to Mullingar.

“The Government has their own plans to create 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin by 2020 but the people of the Midlands cannot wait any longer. We need to see proper efforts made to bring jobs to the area.

“Mullingar has had no IDA Ireland-backed factory or industry since 2000 and this business has moved on in the interim and IDA Ireland has never prioritised Mullingar properly for investment.

“The Minister must call on IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and other relevant agencies that deal with employment to immediately prioritise Mullingar, which is located in the heart of Ireland and equidistant north, south, east and west for foreign direct and indigenous investment.

“We have an excellent educated and mobile workforce, many of whom travel eastwards every morning to their place of employment.  We have an excellent primary and secondary road network, a decent rail transport to Dublin, great primary and secondary educational facilities and a strong link to Athlone Institute of Technology, which is 30 minutes away, and NUI Maynooth, which is also 30 minutes away to the east.  We also have wonderful leisure and recreational facilities and an open invitation from the local authority, chamber of commerce, trade unions and business interests.  Establishing a wide-ranging IDA-led task force is paramount at this stage.”