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Dole numbers hit record levels 08.02.10
BUNCRANA is fast
becoming the unemployment capital of Donegal with a
staggering 5,005 people now signing on.
Buncrana, including Inishowen, has only 639 fewer
people signing on than the larger population centre
of Letterkenny. Letterkenny's unemployment figure
now stands at 5,644.
Figures for the other centres in the county for
January show that Ballybofey now has 2,662 people
signing on; Ballyshannon, 1,532; Donegal Town,
1,501; Dunfanaghy, 1,620; Dungloe, 2,256 and
Killybegs, 1,253.
Buncrana's dole figure of 5,005 for January is up
from 4,880 the previous month. The tally for the
county as a whole last month was a record 21,473
people signing on, compared to 20,748 the previous
month.
Meanwhile, Cllr Pádraig MacLochlainn claimed the
Government and IDA were demonstrating a “sheer
neglect of Inishowen” |
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He said of the 1,740
site visits hosted by the IDA in 2009 only three
were made to Donegal, all of which were in
Letterkenny.
"This shows the clear lack of commitment Minister
Mary Coughlan has to her own county and in
particular, Inishowen," said Cllr MacLochlainn.
"Minister Coughlan and her Government have shown the
people of Inishowen that they |
are in no way serious
or committed to us in terms of creating employment
and getting people back to work."
He called for an immediate strategy for job creation
for the region.
"We have watched in bewilderment since as the
Government are clearly more interested in saving
bankers, large developers, and international bond
holder gamblers than in getting people back to work
or helping small and medium businesses," he added.
Meanwhile, the Opposition in the south west of the
county also slated the recent Live Register tally.
Fine Gael's Deputy Dinny McGinley described the
unemployment figures as "staggering".
“The live register figures released (on Friday) show
an increase of 725 during the month of January,
bringing the total number of people unemployed in
the county to a staggering 21,473," said Deputy
McGinley.
"These are the highest unemployment figures in the
county on record. In the last 12 months close to
5,000 Donegal people joined the Live Register. More
than a quarter of those registered as unemployed are
under 25. We are in danger of losing a whole
generation to unemployment and emigration," he said. |
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