'Staggering' Kildare unemployment

The fact that unemployment in Kildare has more than doubled in the last year, and is significantly more than the national average increase of 87 percent, has been highlighted this weekend by FG local elections candidate Martin Heydon.

In a comment on the Budget, Heydon said the Government had ‘missed an opportunity’ for job creation at a time when more than 15,000 people were signing on in Kildare alone.

Describing the situation as ‘staggering’, he said a ‘fatal flaw’ in the Budget is that it is devoid of any plan to protect and create jobs.

“Fine Gael has consistently argued that stemming the rise in unemployment must be at the core of an economic recovery strategy,” he said. “Otherwise, it will become more and more difficult to control the Budget deficit as more and more people lose their jobs.”

He noted that Fine Gael’s ‘Rebuilding Ireland' could create 100,000 new jobs within 4 years through a radical new way of investing in the key infrastructures needed for the new economy, including a smart electricity grid and 21st century broadband.