Phoenix: No one shouted stop?

The recent fuel protests caught almost everyone, especially government, off guard. What started with good will from most people who saw them as a real cry for help, ended with a really bad taste. 

Forces emerged which will not easily be suppressed. €750 million of relief, a huge amount of money, yet the international oil situation is still unclear. What that means for October’s budget, given the fraught situation, is anyone’s guess. 

A sense of grievance among protesters was palpable and official leadership was scarce. There is a fear that some mischievous protest groups have learned tactical, strategic lessons from what happened. That could have unpleasant consequences. 

There is also a sort of consensus, underpinned by the Dáil resignation from government of Michael Healy Rae that the government is out of touch with rural Ireland. In that context, remember that Waterford is “rural Ireland”.

Some weeks ago Irish Times economist Cliff Jones wrote of the difference between those areas of Ireland, which were part of the “GDP economy”, with major tech and pharma employment, versus the rest. These areas, think Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, are replete with Foreign Direct Investment and IDA supported jobs. 

Just imagine the impact of 25,000 high paying, medical devices jobs on Galway or 6,500 Apple jobs (just one industry) on Cork. Apparently the average salary in Apple is near enough €100k. 

The level of disposable income generated by these salaries is enormous and visible in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Sure, Waterford has a small part of that GDP economy, but… the SEEM (South East Economic Monitor) report is emphatic: “The South East, despite marquee projects like the North Quays, has the lowest per capita investment at €1,738 - around €7,000 below the national average - reflecting a persistent pattern of regional underinvestment. 

"The national imbalance is stark. Dublin, with 28% of the population, is in the process of receiving 56% of capital spending. Over the past five years, IDA-supported jobs in the south east region have had the second-lowest growth rate in the country. Within the region, growth has been uneven: Carlow and Wexford remain static; Kilkenny has seen a significant uplift and Waterford has declined. 

"Since COVID, relative disposable income has declined in the South East and is 21% lower than Dublin’s level.” 

The government must think people in Waterford don’t see or experience these factors. Government TDs seem especially unconcerned. 

Many people in Waterford believe, this writer among them, that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been a disaster for Waterford. Our chief whip is close to real power, but is painfully unable to exploit that position. Government representatives harping on about three local projects that have been done to death is dreadful. 

The sense of watching a big party going on, from which whole sections of the country and the population are excluded, has fueled a real disenchantment with this government’s lethargic and reactive performance, while providing fertile ground for resentment and protest in Waterford and elsewhere. Official Ireland in our local council, chamber of commerce or government parties has blithely ignored SEEM. Where’s the outrage, the demand for answers and accountability?

For slow learners, when SEEM says we have the lowest per capita state investment, that means there is currently not a single government funded Waterford project in the economically vital airport, IDA, road, rail, port, third-level education or healthcare sectors at planning permission or tender stage. Nothing, nichts, nada, nix, zero, null! 

This is an economic disaster in the making, which completely undermines Waterford as the “regional economic driver”, while almost unimaginable sums are indicated for medical, educational and infrastructural projects in more favoured areas? Billions indicated for Dublin and Cork. Hundreds of millions for Limerick and Galway as we wait and wait and wait...

Last week our council met reprentatives of Amgen, who are closing their local, highly efficient plant, to move production to their south Dublin site, which requires seven floors in a new multi-storey car park to cater for the new employees. Council also met representatives of West Pharma who have a plant here. They are building a huge extension to their Blanchardstown plant. 

Why Dublin instead of Waterford? Platitudes are the order of the day when seeking answers, but multi-national industries are experts at reading the tea leaves. This is what the 20-year investment boycott by Fine Gael at WIT does to you, when roofs were allowed to leak and nothing was built as new campus cities were built elsewhere. 

Justify that to any sentient being on the planet. Fianna Fáil’s disgraceful attempt to derail a tiny extension of our airport gets you this, as government sought to prevent Waterford from even trying to compete. Who can imagine Dublin Airport Authority appealing to Bord Pleanála against the tiny Waterford Airport. It’s obscene. The Bord Pleanála (Case 307528) decision to grant planning permission is very clear “contrary to the narrative provided by the DAA that there is no rationale for the proposal, there are clear and established longstanding policy objectives at national, regional and local planning levels for the extension of the existing runway at Waterford Airport.” 

In all the thousands of documents seen about UHW, who has ever seen a situation where a project was announced by a government minister and flagged as vital, included in the HSE Capital Plan and then unceremoniously pulled without any public explanation. This is what happened with the proposed new Out Patients Department. Now, a vitally necessary 98-bed ward block, massive preparatory work all done, ready to go to planning, is pushed back unceremoniously into the dim future on the grounds of seeking a better site elsewhere on the UHW campus. 

Token sums are indicated as supposed evidence of project progress as the HSE gives cover for local political ineptitude. UHW is crying out for an effectively self-funding multi-storey car park, but the HSE can’t even do that. Is Fine Gael in the undermining phase there too?

We are told that 24/7 cardiology will be put in place in UHW in the coming months and doubtless political big wigs will be in attendance on the day. If they arrive with nothing new to tackle UHW’s extreme infrastructure deficit, our two ministers should start looking for new careers.