Employment in the Gaeltacht regions has been boosted by the announcement that Udaras na Gaeltachta has approved projects involving 225 new jobs, mainly in small local firms, in the first four months of this year.
The Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht, and the Islands, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, announced yesterday that the new jobs would come from a mixture of new projects and expansions in established industries. A number of the jobs are in the thriving audio-visual and medical aid sectors.
He said that the entire package - covering counties Galway, Donegal, Kerry, Cork, and Waterford - represented a total investment of just under £12.3 million. The Udaras will provide over £3m of this funding.
Among the success stories announced in the package is a plan to double full-time employment at Nemeton Teoranta, County Waterford, to 20 within less than two years. In Co Donegal, a support package was provided to expand the workforce at Spleodar Leictreonach Teo, Falcarragh, from 26 to 44 by the end of the year. The company manufactures electric fence energizers and cable forms.
Some 74 jobs were announced for four different projects in the Connemara Gaeltacht, including 30 jobs at Vialto (Eire) Teo, a new Belgian-owned technological company at Corr na Mna; and 29 jobs at Acutek, a medical care manufacturing facility.
In Co Cork, a package was approved to help Gniomhfhiontar U Dhonnabhain, at Baile Mhic Ire, to increase full-time employment from 125 to 137 by the end of this year.
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