A long summer

The Dáil is on holidays until September 18, 2024, so even if we wanted to complain, it would be like shouting into an empty barrel - noise but little else. 

Listening to local radio or national TV, it’s like a cone of silence has descended on the land. The Olympics provide the entertainment and all seriousness has been banished, for the time being at least. Last year a WIT academic said on WLR that in the absence of political power (us) that the only thing people could do was complain, and complain and complain. She was of the opinion that politicians really hate people complaining. They want to believe that everyone loves them and that delivery is keeping people happy. Not down here it isn’t.

For many a year, the people of Waterford were accused of whinging, of complaining. It suited the political narrative of the failed TDs who “represented” us without delivering anything, to say “Waterford people are never happy”. 

We could see with our eyes wide open that state investment in medicine, third level education and FDI jobs was simply not coming here, the narrative switched to blaming us for their political failure. Many locals foolishly accepted this lunacy and its corollary that if we were entitled to something, we would get it. 

In reverse, that if we were not getting something, even though we could see the largesse turning up elsewhere, that we were by definition not entitled to it. This was the great political swindle. Vote for me and I will do what I can, but don’t blame me for non-delivery. Those days are hopefully gone for good. When we are not happy (as at present) we will keep saying so. 

It may not suit our elected representatives, especially those on the government side, but so what? A recent comment on social media posited the opinion that our four seat TD representation was designed to have us ignored and that the extra Dail seat which would have changed the paradigm completely was politically excluded. What we must do is weaponise the local sense of outrage about political non–delivery (think 24/7 cardiology) in the same way as the people of Galway and the West have weaponised the poor mouth.

No one here begrudges the west anything, but it has been very hard over the past generation to sit back and watch while Galway city became the national poster child for inward investment and government investment. People may dwell on the fact that Galway was only awarded city status circa: 1990, while Waterford has had city status for 800 years.

In this part of the world what we want is a fair share of what’s going. We cannot sit idly by while our one time peer cities are purposefully driven ahead of us. 

Remember the tragic closure of Digital in Galway some years ago with the loss of many jobs? The entire government decamped to the USA to find a replacement industry and brought back the entire medical devices sector to Galway which now has a huge number of companies based in that city. When Waterford Crystal closed in 2008, the feeling was palpable that some government ministers decamped to Buswell’s Hotel to celebrate the end of a difficult union and workforce.

Anyway, things have moved on. New industry and FDI have made an appreciable dent in Waterford’s economy. The number of FDI jobs has increased here but the feeling persists that Waterford is simply not in the game like Limerick and Galway are. It is widely said locally that a major medical device company came to Waterford two years ago looking to expand and were diverted by the IDA on the basis that a development site of scale was not available here. 

The company went elsewhere in this region. In recent times INTEL were searching nationally and internationally for a site for a new generation chip plant. The company will still develop its existing plant in Leixlip, but the new plant has gone to Germany. The IDA and the Irish government were pushing a site in Oranmore in Galway for the new plant. It’s sad that Ireland did not get the new investment, but odds on, Waterford was not even considered by the IDA for it. Would they comment on what deficiencies if any, we have that might deter such investment? A broad spectrum fully funded and developed university maybe, or a functioning airport? It would be interesting to know in any event so that we could complain about what we need!

In recent weeks the airport saga, proof positive of discrimination, has reached endgame. Eamon Ryan’s department kept looking for crossed 'T's and dotted 'I's going back to the flood, to such an extent that the airport board apparently told them to put up or shut up. 

The passenger cap on Dublin Airport is forcing recognition that airports elsewhere in the country should be expanded. Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary has said that the limit (for grant aid) of one million passengers at smaller regional airports is completely unrealistic if we want to expand tourism and business in the regions. 

It’s worth listening to Matt Cooper’s extended pod cast with DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs (both from Cork) as they talk for 16 minutes about demolishing Cork Airport terminal to expand passenger figures to seven million there. 

Who cares if the figure is 70 million as long as the paltry few million required for Waterford airport is provided, to give our region a competitive chance. Waving multi-billion euro railway projects that may never appear (think Metro North) in front of us, to convince us of all Ireland connectivity is fine, but these are projects for a new programme for government.

The possible completion date of 2050/2055 says it all. Our airport is for now and needs funding now. It’s ready to go, just like any number of projects at UHW or SETU/WIT. The deliberate, unconscionable delay to the project has ensured that construction will not be able to start this year because of runway earth compaction issues during wet, winter weather. It’s really amazing just how difficult it is (North Quays notwithstanding) to attract state capital spending to this city. The answer is, keep complaining!