Jobs Plan can tackle youth unemployment epidemic in Wexford - O' Súilleabháin

A spokesperson for local Sinn Féin has branded a new jobs plan launched by his party in New Ross last week as the only answer to County Wexford's unemployment epidemic.  Speaking at the meeting, Fionntán O' Súilleabháin cited the fact that 46% of under twenty fives in this county are now unemployed as the proof that the policies of austerity have failed and now it is time to try something else.

Mr O' Súilleabháin said;

"Nearly half of all under twenty fives in this county are unemployed.  It's a shocking statistic and what makes it even worse is the knowledge that so many young people have already left Wexford looking for work abroad.  In fact that has been the governments only answer to the youth unemployment epidemic - get rid of our young people."

"Clearly the policies of austerity have failed the people of County Wexford.  We have 20,000 people unemployed in this county.  We have areas where youth emigration has been so bad that local sports teams are struggling to field a side.  The whole fabric of our communities has been decimated.  If you want the source problem of this, and the solution, you need only ask yourself what is lacking in Wexford today.  The answer is jobs."

"Both the current Fine Gael/Labour government, and the previous Fianna Fail led regime, failed spectacularly to bring jobs to County Wexford.  North Wexford has been particularly neglected.  Famously the IDA failed to bring a single job to the area during a four year period.  Clearly we need fresh innovative policies to tackle unemployment."

"Sinn Féin is proposing almost €13 billion additional investment in job creation and economic growth over the next four years.  This would create an average of 156,000 new jobs and retain up to 15000 existing jobs according to the ERSI.  To finance this we would use €5.8 billion in discretionary funding from the National Pension Reserve Fund, €1.534 billion from the European Investment Bank and €3 billion incentivised investment from the private pension sector.  On top of this we would not allow the €2.6 billion earmarked to be cut from capital expenditure in Budget 2013 to go."

"Over the coming weeks we will be bringing this plan into communities.  I would ask people to read it and to realise that there are options available to our government.  Don't allow them to say that there's no money and nothing can be done.  The situation we are in was caused by political choices.  It can be rectified by political choices but they must be the right ones, made to benefit the people and future feasibility of this state."