Tuam doing well as IDA job numbers hold up in West

By TONY GALVIN DESPITE the ongoing recession, Tuam is faring well when it comes to IDA-supported job creation, with a number of companies in the town both thriving and expanding. However, it has to be acknowledged that the main emphasis is now on Galway city and the day of expecting factories to be dotted around smaller towns and villages is over. [private] This was the reaction from the IDA's Western Manager who was commenting on figures released this week which indicate that Galway is among a handful of counties which are not only holding but expanding their IDA-supported jobs. However, Regional Manager for IDA West Jim Murren told The Tuam Herald that while Tuam's empty IDA park is still a priority for them, it has to be recognised that the face of work is changing and international companies are mostly interested in large centres of population and they, not the IDA, dictate where they locate. He thinks the best hope for Tuam's IDA park is for a manufacturer to build their own plant there and the IDA are ready to assist in any such process. When job losses and job gains in IDA-supported companies since 2007 were measured, Co Galway came out 311 ahead. These figures only apply to IDA-supported companies but they are a welcome trend in an area hard hit by unemployment. Jim Murren told The Tuam Herald that they are reasonably satisfied with the figures for Galway and companies they support in Tuam are faring well. He said Valeo now employs over 500 people in quality jobs and are actively recruiting specialised technical staff. Transitions Optical employ 180 with IDA support and Logstrup is also doing well. 'We haven't forgotten the IDA park and we will not be slow in promoting it. However, it must be realised that the nature of the jobs we are attracting is changing. Projects in Galway city now tend to be of the business services variety and as the companies involved come from large cities, they tend to favour locating in a city, even a small one such as Galway. We really have no say in this matter,' he explained. The IDA feel that there is a ripple effect which emanates out from the city and benefits towns and communities throughout the county. With greatly improved transport links in recent years, commuting is not the problem it once was. 'We have a two-pronged approach. One, which most people associate the IDA with, is attracting in new jobs. The second, and one which is vitally important at this time, is preserving the jobs in companies which are established here and facilitating expansion. 'We've been through a very difficult time but we're recovering from much of the so-called reputational damage the country suffered as a result of the crisis and now the focus is on regeneration,' Jim Murren said. He asked people to understand that the days of throwing up advance factories around the country and hoping an industry would arrive, have long gone. The major companies they are targeting and working with know what they want and can pick and choose from a huge variety of locations. They are not going to locate in a town like Ballinasloe just because people there want them to. He also said it had to be acknowledged that the service the IDA provides is good value for money. They give out €90 million in grant aid each year. The companies they support pay 30 times this in corporation tax and their activities inject €19 billion into the economy. In addition there are the positive benefits of boosting exports and indirect jobs associated with such companies. The IDA figures just released show the level of job creation associated with them fluctuated between 539 and 1,065 over the past five years. In Galway the job creation level is up 311 since 2007. The corresponding figure for Mayo is plus 96, Clare plus 137, Roscommon minus 68 and Limerick minus 2,909. Overall the Western counties have fared best in holding and making gains in IDA-supported jobs since the recession began in 2007. Only six of the 26 counties can show this net increase. [/private]