Almost 900 IDA-backed jobs lost

Almost 900 jobs were lost in IDA supported companies in Westmeath and Roscommon over the past two years. A total of 881 jobs were lost during 2008 and 2009 in both counties, while in comparison, less than half that amount, 403 jobs, were created by the state agency during the same period. The counties suffered a loss of 616 jobs in IDA supported companies last year alone, while only 228 new jobs were created in return. A lot of the Westmeath jobs are based in Athlone, while many Roscommon jobs are based in Monksland. IDA chief Barry O'Leary said job creation was "disastrous" in 2009. The job losses in Westmeath alone doubled last year, with 527 job losses in the multinationals based here, compared to 264 job losses during 2008. To combat these losses, the IDA managed to create 219 jobs in foreign-owned companies in Westmeath, bringing the total number of jobs in these multinationals to 1,820 by the end of last year. Meanwhile in county Roscommon, a total of 89 jobs were lost during 2009, while only nine new jobs were created through the IDA. This brought the total number of IDA-backed jobs in the county to 817. In total, there were 2,637 IDA supported jobs in the two counties by the end of 2009, compared to just over 3,000 the year before. Speaking last week, IDA chief Barry O'Leary admitted that 2009 was a "disastrous year" for employment creation. However, he highlighted the recently-opened PPD in Athlone's IDA business park, with the potential to create up to 250 jobs, as a positive development for the Midlands. Mr O'Leary said falling costs, such as lower rents and wages, were helping Ireland's competitiveness. "Costs are going in the right direction," he said. The employment figures were released by the Department of Trade and Enterprise last week, following the release of the IDA's new strategy document which emphasised a shift to creating jobs in Ireland outside of Dublin and other major urban areas. 'Horizon 2020' aims to attract 640 investments over the next five years, with half of those outside Dublin and Cork. As well as investments from existing client companies, it sees opportunities in new areas such as cloud computing, services innovation and clean technologies and from emerging economies such as India and China. The IDA also sees potential in convincing services companies, such as insurance and telecoms firms, to use Ireland as a test market for new services. Nationally, a total of 4,610 jobs were created, but 18,028 jobs were lost last year in IDA-backed companies. However Laois, Kilkenny and Tipperary North all failed to win a single IDA job last year.