I am disturbed by the reports of job losses at the Oasis factory in Ballina. At one time the factory employed 300 people and it now employs only 120. A further 46 employees lost their jobs today. This problem, which is a symptom of what is happening in north Mayo, needs an urgent solution.
I call on the Government to take action to save the jobs at the factory. A previous task force was successful to a degree but it did not provide the complete answer because Government commitment to the area does not exist. I ask for the setting up of a task force which would include Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Ballina Chamber of Commerce, Mayo County Council, Ballina Urban District Council, Forbairt, Teagasc and the local development groups.
I particularly seek a Government commitment to Mayo. The root cause of the problem of north Mayo is the lack of essential infrastructure. While funds have been available they have not come to the west and there is an onus on the Government to correct this imbalance.
We matter in north Mayo. I was raised in the area and, like people everywhere, we want to live and work in our own area and to keep our children there. We cannot do this in north Mayo. Half of our graduates must go to Dublin to get their first job. Dublin has enough problems with the number of people who are already there without attracting more people to the capital.
The answer is regional development. The Government should practise what it preaches. It preaches regional development but does not practise it. The roads in the west are worthy of the Third World. The Western Development Commission has charged that the national development plan does not address this situation. The roads are getting worse and not better. The telecommunications infrastructure is not satisfactory. Our young people go to Dublin in droves every week to get jobs which they should be able to find locally.
The Oasis factory is closing because the jobs it provides can be too easily transferred to cheaper economies. Because we do not have the telecommunications and roads infrastructure we cannot provide quality jobs to allow our young people to stay in their own area. The west of Ireland, and north Mayo in particular, cannot compete with other areas of the EU in attracting industry by providing a proper climate for development.
Objective One status has not meant anything to the people of the area. What good is a grant, no matter how large, if one cannot get it? We have had the wrong kind of consistency – consistent neglect – from successive Governments. We want a commitment to infrastructure. People in north Mayo, particularly young people, are disillusioned, and one cannot blame them. Since 1997, about 600 jobs have been lost between Heneghans and Asahi. What will happen in 2004 when Bellacorick closes? That will be another 200 jobs lost.
It is not surprising that people feel hopeless and can see no future. Employment in Oasis is down from 300 to 74. It is not sufficient to respond with lip-service and any type of task force. A task force that can address the problem, that can put pressure on Government to do what is required and that can ensure regional development takes place is necessary. It must also ensure structural funds are allocated to this Objective One area. People in the voluntary sector fought hard for that status and it is regrettable to realise it is useless.
There are many educated young people in the area. They cannot get jobs due to the failure of successive Governments to support them.
