Daly welcomes opening of new revenue office in Athy

The relocation of 20% of the planned number of revenue personnel to Athy is a very positive step in the fortunes of the town according to Fine Gael’s Cllr Richard Daly.

“I hope that four years after the announcement by Mr McCreevy of the decentralisation programme of the government that completion of the move will not take another four years. Athy has anxiously sought the location of a government department for the last number of years and welcomes the first 50 employees to the town. This is simply the advance party and we are anxious to see the real decentralisation of the promised 250 personnel.” Said Cllr Daly

“The relocation of these workers will have a strong economic effect on the economy of the town as these are the most secure of jobs. While we are seeing the closure of manufacturing outlets and the steady decline of the building industry on a daily basis we can be assured that taxation will be with us as long as we have government.

This initial development will further advance the plans of many of the entrepreneurs who are about to invest heavily in the town. We have seen Athy become an attractive location to invest in as our population increases with so many people choosing it as a place to live and while most of the fifty Revenue employees are already living locally there will undoubtedly be economic benefit to the local outlets

It is unfortunate that on the day the Minister Cowen officially opened the office that Ireland’s unemployment figure had reached its highest level in the last decade and that we are experiencing such high inflation just as Athy’s regeneration is commencing. The benefits of the Celtic Tiger did not reach as far as Athy over the past few years and now that the Minister for Finance has located members of his own department here perhaps he will prioritise investment in our schools, our rail network, our Southern relief road, our water supply, our broadband availability particularly our long promised MAN (metropolitan area network), and much much more.

It is also unfortunate that on the same day that the Minister officially opened the Revenue that his colleague in Education pared back her announcements of school buildings and has further delayed commencement dates for schools in the county including major projects in Naas and Athy. I would have thought that in times of economic decline that this government would have prioritised education before taxation.

A little done, a lot to do, Minister.” he concluded

ENDS