Fine Gael’s claims of a recovery have been rubbished by Fianna Fáil General Election candidate for Roscommon-Galway Cllr. Eugene Murphy who added that it “had by-passed Roscommon.”
“There are few signs of a recovery in Roscommon and rural Galway as boarded up businesses and ghost towns remain a common sight across the two counties.
Cllr. Murphy explained, “The Taoiseach has spent the past two weeks talking about keeping the recovery going. What recovery? There are few signs of a recovery here in Roscommon following the dismantling of vital services by Fine Gael and Labour. This Government’s plan to renege on promises and leave the regions behind wasn’t long taking shape. Only months after taking office, Fine Gael shut down the A&E at Roscommon Hospital despite having campaigned to save it.”
“Fine Gael and Labour’s disdain for rural Ireland is plain to see in the Dublin focused jobs strategies, which they have presided over. The figures speak for themselves – 94% of all jobs created in 2014 and 50% of all IDA site visits under this government were in Dublin. Rural Ireland has been completely ignored.
“Fianna Fáil’s policy of decentralisation oversaw the transfer of the Property Registration Authority and the Land Registry to Roscommon, bringing over 200 jobs to the town. Richard Bruton and Joan Burton opposed that initiative – and their resistance to job creation outside the capital has been the hallmark of this Government’s term in office.
“Anyone driving through Roscommon cannot fail but be shocked by the deterioration of towns across the county. Since Fine Gael and Labour came to power, 25 businesses in Stokestown have closed their doors, the shutters have come down on 7 shops in Frenchpark, while Ballaghaderreen has seen some of the biggest losses with 28 businesses closing. During the same 5 year period, there were a mere 6 IDA site visits to Roscommon. Contrast that with the 242 site visits in Dublin in 2015 alone.
“Fianna Fáil wants to ensure that every part of the country benefits from the recovery. We have consistently called for greater balanced regional development and have put forward credible plans to achieve that. We would encourage and support small and medium businesses by ensuring that they have access to credit, through the establishment of a fully licenced state enterprise bank similar to the former Industrial Credit Corporation (ICC).
“We believe in a country where decent hard working people can thrive, not just survive. Our vision centres on building an Ireland that will benefit people in every community not just the select few”.