Four out of five New Ross families directly affected by unemployment - O' Connell

Oisin O' Connell at the recent JFK festival in New Ross

Now is the time to harness the creative energy that made this year's JFK festival so successful and use it to put New Ross back to work, according to a local spokesperson for Sinn Féin.  Speaking at the event last week Oisin O' Connell said that a new survey commissioned by his party showed the true devastation caused by unemployment in the New Ross district with 60% of those questioned stating that  member of their immediate family has either been forced to emigrate or is planning to in the near future.

"The JFK festival showed what New Ross is capable of delivering," Mr O' Connell said.  "Unfortunately behind the glamour and prestige of what was a hugely successful event lies a world in which four out of five local families have been directly affected by the unemployment crisis.  We need to get this town and district working again, and to do that we need the show the same spirit of innovation and creativity that was evident in the planning and execution of this year's JFK festival."

"In the last couple of months New Ross Sinn Féin has been compiling a Employment and Emigration Survey in order to better understand that effects of the recession on this district.  Now the results are in and they make for grim reading.  78% of those surveyed answered yes when asked if either themselves or a family member was currently unemployed.  Of those that were out of work, 71% stated that they were unemployed for more than one year."

"60% of those questioned stated that a member of their immediate family had either been forced to emigrate or was thinking of doing so in the near future.  The most compelling statistic came from asking those surveyed were they satisfied with the governments action to tackle unemployment.  93% answered no.  81% said that they government needed to introduce a realistic job creation programme immediately to kick start our economy."

"We also surveyed several businesses in the New Ross area and found that there was unanimous support among them for changes to be made to the current PRSI rules to create a safety net for the self employed."

"New Ross will recover from this recession.  We will get our unemployed back to work and we will create the conditions for businesses within this district to flourish once again, but to do this we need help.  The government must put the money earmarked in the NPRF for job creation to proper and efficient use."

Employment and Emigration Survey

Commissioned by New Ross Sinn Féin and carried out in New Ross town and surrounding district during May/June 2013.

Are you or any member of your family unemployed?

Yes - 78%
No - 22%

If yes, for how long?

Less than 12 months - 29%
More than 12 months - 71%

 Has a member of your immediate family been forced to emigrate or is thinking about doing so in the near future?

Yes - 60%
No - 40%

If yes to question 3, where have they or are they planning to emigrate to?

Australia - 34%
Canada - 19%
USA - 15%
UK - 28%
other - 4%

Are you satisfied with government action to tackle unemployment?

Yes - 7%
No - 93%

Should the government have a job stimulus programme to kick start the economy and create jobs?

Yes - 81%
No - 19%