Sola says goodbye

It’s been a while since there was as significant a jobs loss for Wexford. Unfortunately yesterday Carl Zeiss or Sola Lenses as they are better known here announced the end of production at their factory in Whitemill. Over 80 jobs will go as decades of production will end and the company retains its back office facility for Ireland with just 20 jobs as opposed to the hundreds that worked in the factory when Sola was at its peak. The production will be transferred to China. I really feel sorry for the workers who are losing their jobs, some of their children teach, some of the workers I’ve taught in the past. Some will never work again as age and skill sets are against them. It’s a really sad and worrying time for families.

I’m really sorry that Carl Zeiss have made this move. It’s clear to me that the real decision was made some time back and that the company in the end ignored even requests to take even a phone calls relating to the company’s plans. The factory has been in wind down mode for sometime as work was sent outside the country in the last few years to other low wage economies. However when Carl Zeiss finally shut the doors and leave we are still left with a town where unemployment is going up and an economy still fragile and lacking in confidence. Coming this week after the successful Wexford EXPO which provided a forum for local enterprise, it’s another indicator that the road back to a successful economy will not be easy in any circumstances

Add this to the loss of Wexford Electronics and rapidly Wexford’s technological base is disappearing with no promise of a replacement. To be fair Coca Cola has arrived in town and there are high end jobs there, but the cold wind of economic prioritisation of major towns for jobs is leaving Wexford behind. Recently we had a motion at Wexford Borough Council that asked the IDA to pinpoint jobs for the town. The suggestion was that the Ida was only interested in places like Waterford. However when Talk Talk announced its departure from Waterford the clear suggestion was that Waterford was being by-passed by Cork for jobs. So Waterford jumps Wexford and Cork jumps Waterford. That leaves us in the third division when it comes to the IDA. The IDA believe that major job packages look for a large city with an airport, university and skill sets and that’s where they see their focus so all the regions are going nowhere.

It’s time for the IDA to wake up to the reality of Ireland beyond the college wall or airport terminal. Wexford has a high quality MANS fibre optic cable which is underutilised, a decent quality of life and very affordable housing for workers. Add to that the convenience of Rosslare Port with land provided for industry by Brendan Howlin, a good road and rail network there is the basis for industry if the IDA was prepared to push for the county. For sometime the IDA has ignored the town. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Price for Brown’s jobs gaffe will be paid by all

I’ve always liked Gordon Brown and at this stage I think he’ll win the next UK election despite the Tory lead in the polls. Brown is reliable and trustworthy, there’s nothing flash about him, he’s solid and believable. That’s why I believe he’s made a mistake calling for British jobs should be given to British workers. What exactly does that mean? Where stand Irish people who may have spent more of their lives in Britain than here in Ireland?
This week has seen the anti upped considerably by an unofficial strike at an oil refinery in opposition to a contract being awarded to Portuguese and Italian companies. Sympathy strikes have spread elsewhere around the country. Gordon’s soundbyte is thrown back at him. Its wrong to say you can give jobs to one nationality only in an economy. EU legislation applies to all EU nationals and all are equal before the law. The British economy benefits hugely from foreign investment particularly in the city. We can all wave the national flag and as Larkin pointed out you cannot eat a flag. The solution to a problem with European legislation lies in Brussels so lobby to change the policy as set out in the EC. Not for one minute would I argue that the focus of Europe has swung away from the citizen to the corporation and that’s because the right in Europe have rolled out the liberal free market model at the expense of the previous social model. This has happened when the Socialist Group weakened in successive EU elections.
I wonder how long it will take until some gombeen man politician in Ireland parrots an Irish version of this soundbyte. Pointing the finger at high levels of job losses in construction and doing the back of the envelope maths to show that if the Eastern Europe building workers would kindly go away Irish workers would replace them. I’ve always held the view that Ireland will see some Eastern Europeans return anyway and a significant number stay as their families and children settle and intermarry with Irish. The temptation to pander to low base instinct will surely get the better of someone in the run in tot his election as it did to FF’s Noel O’Flynn and FG’s Joe O’Callaghan in the 2002 Election. If this view was around 25 years ago no Irish emigrant would have survived in London. It's time to think that if countries acting together cannot deal with the international aspect of the credit crunch what chance has a small state? If workers united cannot resolve the problem how will workers set against one another because of nationality ever get this sorted out?

Road to Oz paved with best intentions

Last night’s Late Late show was the most depressing I’ve watched in sometime. Don’t get me wrong my only criticism of is of one topic in particular, one I never thought I’d see again and that’s emigration. On a human level I have huge sympathies for the 20 something’s that Pat Kenny interviewed who sat in the front row left with no alternative but to go abroad for work. Having been part of a similar generation 20 years ago faced with the same likelihood, the word emigration brings an empty feeling to my gut. To be fair one or two of the guests may well have gone to Australia anyway for a year out in search of downtime, fair enough I’ve no problem with that either. My interest in the matter is the overt message that there is little work for young people now in Ireland, especially if you’re in construction so go to where the work is. Sadly emigration, even in the limited options now available, is where these young Irish now see their future, and that is surely the biggest failing of all of the mistakes of this government.

In the context of the present world economy there’s few places where there isn’t a recession. Australia seems to be the obvious place for most people. Last July I met a parent of a former pupil and when I enquired as to how he was I was told that he had lost his job in an architect’s office. I sympathised and said I hoped it wouldn’t be a case that he’d have to emigrate as there weren’t too many countries where there may be a need for architects other than Australia. His mother then went on to tell me that if nothing came up he was going out in August which he eventually did. Sad to relate that he’s not the only one going south and that he won’t be the last.
I can remember Gay Byrne telling us day after day 25 years ago that the country was “banjaxed” and that the last one leaving should put out the lights. It’s easy to say but the effect of those words on a generation of young people is damaging. We now know that the country wasn’t banjaxed and that money was stashed away from revenue in a black hole. When unions pointed this out they were told that there was no black hole, no money leaving the country for the Isle of Man, Channel Islands or Cayman. Now we know much better. Just as we have another symptom of the 1980’s back in the form of emigration I wonder has tax evasion returned too? I note that Ryanair are opening new routes to Spain from Knock and I wonder how so many people in the 2 countries appear to have so much money to support such a service when both economies are in difficulty. Property over there is much cheaper as they followed policies similar to our own government.
The reality is that emigrants from Ireland may find it harder to get into the US due to security considerations and the UK and Europe may be no better than here as these economies are in recession also. Some people call it the confidence to spend, others call it reluctance to pay now but whatever the reason no one wants to buy and that’s a huge problem in the economy. But if money came out from under the bed would it not be economically more productive? This is the rainy day that the wealth should have been kept for. I know that the sustainability means you cannot keep building houses but if school buildings were constructed, better insulation installed in houses I, like Eamon Gilmore, believe far fewer people would have to emigrate. Would it not be more productive to our economy to have these young people here than abroad, returning only at Christmas time?
RTE used to run a regular feature at Christmas where Jim Fahy would go to Knock Airport to report on the return of emigrants from Mayo to London after the Christmas break. No stronger image existed of a failed right wing policy. 1 million people emigrated between 1921 and the 1991. Jim is still on the payroll of RTE, what’s the bet he’ll be back in Knock Airport next year? With no change in direction I think it’s a likelihood.

Wexford’s economic slide accelerates as FF/Greens do nothing

News over the week-end that unemployment in Co Wexford now exceeds 11,000 is something that I’m not hugely surprised at. Put it like this, a county with just 3% of the Republic’s population is over represented in it’s unemployment figures by about 33%. What is galling about the lack of government response is that FF blame international factors and the greens still want us to believe that they’re in opposition still. Nobody wants to take responsibility for the problem and certainly our present minister who is now being mentioned in the same breadth as Sarah Pallin has no idea how to go about dealing with it. There hasn’t been a word form either party in Wexford in relation to our economic problems. I smile when I read commentators say Labour is offering no alternative to the economic collapse, the fact is that the government who should have a response has no response at all.

One sector of unemployment that is mostly ignored is youth unemployment. In Wexford district this has gone up from 700 in May 2008 to 918 this October. The increase of 31% has gone unnoticed. Unemployment increases have been mostly attributed to the collapse in the building industry. This is partly true but doesn’t tell the whole picture as retail and manufacturing (what’s left of it) go into a tailspin. Lay offs and short time are features of the motor trade locally as a petrol station closed last week, Dunnes Stores has closed on Wexford’s Main St. Toymaster and Furniture Depot shut their doors too. The wider construction business has also suffered, architects, engineers, builders suppliers, solicitors, auctioneers, and building material have all felt the cold wind of recession. Empty units like the one's shown are easily found in Wexford.

Mostly young people who never experienced a recession before are now finding that a bust does follow a boom. The over reliance on multinationals, tax breaks and the property sector has undermined our small business sector. Manufacturing continues to flatline. Where is the policy to support innovation, R&D and new ideas? Any tax breaks that went in the budget were to the corporate sector. FAS has an enormous budget but as yet they have yet to make inroads on the numbers of young on the dole. To make matters worse, numbers qualifying for the Back to Education Allowance have been reduced in the budget. So, no extra money for education, no initiative to expand Community Employment Schemes and FAS out of the picture. Is the government falling back on emigration to sort out the problem of youth unemployment as they did in the 50’s?

FF in charge, Buy now while money lasts!

So there I was complaining about supermarkets starting the Christmas rush early and what do you know? Along comes Brian Lenihan with some festive cheer in the form of an October budget but as Brian says there’s no panic, the measures only take affect from January 1 with regard to taxation. That may be so but any increase in excise duty, VAT or petrol can be brought in immediately so buy now while money lasts may well be early and good advice for those on low incomes. I’m sure speculation will centre on which stealth taxes will be introduced. I wonder will FF have to swallow their opposition to Carbon tax and will there be a trade off with the Green Party so as to stimulate the car market? Its obvious that there’s an overhang in the supply of housing but with regard to cars we’re still below the EU average. Will the government try to revive car sales?

Interestingly the pressure will now be on to conclude a national wage agreement and such a deal may well indicate what the minister will do on personal taxation especially for those at the lower end of the scale. But the need to introduce 2009 budget now as an emergency budget undermines one big claim Fianna Fail made at the 2007 General Election and that is that when you have an economic downturn they are the best party to be in charge. Clearly that claim is seen now as a dead duck, particularly in the light of Bertie Ahern’s comment that if he was in charge still the recession would not have happened. The reality is that Fianna Fail look rudderless with no real vision as to how to restore our economic fortunes. That’s why some commentators expect this recession to last much longer.

But it’s not the only reason. As one of the economies that is most globalised, Ireland is more vulnerable to international economic changes. The credit crunch is squeezing our banks, Banks are lending more than they’re bringing in, lenders find it more difficult to get mortgages, buyers hold back waiting for prices to fall further, Builders cannot borrow to open up their burgeoning landbanks. That’s just what’s happening in housing, Confidence in an economy built solely on a building boom has evaporated. Retail spending has collapsed, Multiples are closing their branches and retail development has stagnated. During the summer the Irish Stock Market index performed better than only the Vietnamese Stock Market.

Our over reliance on oil makes us susceptible to fluctuations in prices, food is rising in price, while the Euro is overpriced in relation to the dollar and Sterling. Our economy is split equally between the UK, US and EU.

That’s also why Labour has called for a retraining programme for those who’ve lost their jobs, investment in education and infrastructure such as schools, broadband and transport. This type of investment will leave the economy better placed to capitalise when recovery comes. Its time the government built something that people wanted not investors want. I hope for all our sakes that Cowen, Coughlan & Co are all up to the job but at the back of my head I have that sinking feeling that the Slump Coalition won in '07.

Whatever happened to the Green Party?

About 20 years ago I met Trevor Sargent in a tea shop. It was a winter election and I was taking refuge from the elements with the Labour campaign team in a coffee shop in Swords. I was immediately struck by his sincerity and practical enthusiasm. I had a huge regard for him and I wasn’t surprised when he got elected to the council and eventually the Dail. His integrity in standing up for communities when enormous pressures were put on councillors, saw him stand with Labour councillors in opposing and exposing many of the actions that led to the Mahon Tribunal. So when he resigned as party leader rather than take a seat in cabinet, I expect he must have scratched his head wondering why did this act not get greater recognition for what he believed to be an honourable act.
Perhaps the answer may lie in how the party has performed since entering government. Many of their critics are surprised as to how John Gormley could stand with Bertie Ahern as he resigned arising out of Mahon’s inquiry. Others listen to the deputy leader calling for driving licenses for rural drivers only or the Deputy Leader of the Seanad looking for a general speed limit of 80Km per hour and they snigger about the movie Speed or more cynically Dermot Morgan’s version. Patients in A&E have plenty of time to reflect on their U-turn on co-location and Bertie must smile when he recalls John Gormley’s “Planet Bertie” speech. Government is about taking decisions based on how they impact of everyday life everywhere in the country. Is it any wonder the promised green break through at the last election never happened?

To be fair to the party I welcome the improved building regulations for apartments, money allocated to tackle educational disadvantage in the programme for government and improved grants for energy efficient buildings but where’s the rest? Where’s the alternative energy, a solution for Corrib Gas dispute, a re-routing of the M3 or an inspectorate for US prisoner rendition flights at Shannon. Instead we had Minister Ryan launching a one man debate on nuclear power, John Gormley’s Haulbowline clean up cock up following hard on the heals of his put down by the Taoiseach after he called for developers to pay a windfall tax. And as for a Green policy on local government reform and revenue for same, forget it!

Whatever happened to the promise that fees accompanying observations on planning applications would go or the view that Ireland only needs 2 incinerators? Last year during the Seanád Elections Green Councillors were chaperoned to vote for FF candidates, some of who were the subject of the Mahon Inquiry, lately the Greens seem keen to charge for domestic water in some circumstances.

So where did it all go wrong? Was the hybrid car that Trevor listed as his achievements in office worth all of that? Does the re-introduction of Red Kites, Golden Eagles and protecting the Red Squirrel compensate for being in power when thousand of jobs are lost per week? If it does, then is it of greater value than U-turns on hunting bans. I’m not suggesting Labour would not have introduced conservation measures but we would have at least done something to stop household names like Jacobs, Grove Turkeys, Guinness, Bulmers, Waterford Glass, Erin Foods, Dawn Meats, Wavin, Hibernian Insurance hemorrhage jobs not to mention the other factories whose names are not national brands.

The Green Party still has a chance if they are prepared to stand up to Fianna Fail on issues that really matter such as the economy. Some how I doubt they will, not only has the party re-introduced kites to Ireland they’re flying them almost every day now, still paralysed by power. It seems like the Battle of Rathmines was all in vain. Fianna Fail must be loving this!