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Crisis meeting for Moville
employers
03.06.09
Business people gather
to discuss grim trading conditions
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen
Independent
FOLLOWING ON from the recent meeting of Inishowen
business people at the Ballyliffin Lodge and Spa
hotel, a follow up gathering will take place
tomorrow night (Wednesday) in the Caiseal Mara Hotel
in Moville at 7:30pm.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent, Frank
Faulkner, owner of the local Mitsubishi Dealership,
called for the Michael McLoone, the County Manager,
to attend Wednesday night’s meeting to demonstrate
that the local authority was taking seriously the
concerns of the Inishowen business community.
“We are expecting the local councillors, election
candidates and the local TDs to attend the meeting,”
he said.
Mr Faulkner said that on two recent occasions the
business community had banded together and written
the County Manager to appeal for a reduction in
commercial rates.
“We sent a letter to the County Manager calling for
a rates reduction. It was signed by 60 local
business people. His office wrote back to say that
the Council didn’t put rates up this year an that
there had been a reduction in refuse collection
charges. As far as I can see it’s still the same
amount for bin charges,” said the local businessman. |
“Our elected
representative have let the Unions run the country
for the last ten years. The minimum wage is too high
compared to the north and the vat rates need to be
reduced here as well.
“I know that there is an election coming up and the
wages issue is a bit of a hot potato, but as a
business man would say ‘is it |
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not be better to take a
pay cut and still be in a job than to insist on the
minimum wage and be out of work?’”
The meeting comes on the back of news that Bonner
Windows, one of the main employers in the town have
been forced to lay off a number of their staff due
to a decline in orders.
Meanwhile Cecil Doherty, the chairman of the
Ballyliffin Development Group who chaired last
week’s meeting said he would attend the Moville
gathering on Wednesday night.
Mr Doherty said he hoped that, after this series of
meetings in the peninsula, a Inishowen wide
development company would be set up to provide a
collective voice to the needs of businesspeople
peninsula wide.
“Following on from last week’s meeting, the
Ballyliffin Development Group are in the process of
putting together a report that will be sent to both
the County Manager and the Minister for Enterprise,
Trade and Employment outlining our position on the
rates issue.” |
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