State job creation body 'has turned its back on Cavan and Monaghan' claims TD

Industrial Development Authority (IDA) 'client' companies in County Monaghan created three jobs in 2012 and lost 10. These are the facts contained in a reply issued by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton T.D. to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Sinn Fein. Cavan/Monaghan Dáil Deputy Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin has again accused the State Job Creation Body of having turned its back on County Monaghan. "The IDA record of promoting County Monaghan as a location for inward investment has been abysmal. While boasting the creation of 12,722 gross new full-time jobs across the 26 Counties in 2012, their net loss of seven jobs in County Monaghan over the same period speaks volumes. "The fact of the matter is that this county has no state agency support in marketing and promoting County Monaghan as an attractive and strategic location to interested or potential overseas companies. "The 2012 figures for neighbouring County Cavan are only marginally better with a net increase of only four jobs over the same 12 months. "I have again written to Minister Bruton urging a major re-think of current IDA policy towards the mid-border counties or the establishment of a dedicated alternative agency that would compensate for the IDA's discriminatory approach to inward investment," concluded Deputy Ó Caoláin.