8 July 1999 Edition

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Spend the surplus

BY ROBBIE MACGABHANN

     
There is little point in having an `information age' economy, creating huge wealth and profits if all the people of the 26 Counties are not benefiting.
The 26-County economy generated £53 billion in wealth last year. This year the economy is set to grow even more with Dublin government surplus funds predicted to be as high as £4.5 billion. Tax receipts are over 17% higher this year than in 1998.

This week Public Enterprise minister Mary O'Rourke and Dublin government Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Tánaiste Mary Harney turned out to bask in the hype surrounding the opening of the building of a new high speed, high capacity telecommunications link between the EU and the US.

The cable will travel through Ireland and the Dublin Government are part funding the connection with international communications company Global Crossing.

The cable will be linked to a 100-acre national digital park on Dublin's Naas Road. This industrial park will become the hub of telecommunications throughout the 26 Counties and up to 10,000 people will be employed there by the year 2005.

It is a re-run of the promises made in the early 1980s when the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) project was first hyped as the latest wonderful economic opportunity.

The IFSC has delivered thousands of jobs, though initial targets were never met. It is also, though, a symbol of the economic inequalities that pervade the 26-County economy.

The local community that the IFSC is situated in benefited little from the presence of the financial services centre in Dublin's north inner city. At one stage there were absolutely no local workers in the IFSC.

On a wider level, the hype over the ``Information Age'' in the Irish economy is a recreation of the IFSC on a wider scale. Yes, the telecommunications industry will create thousands of jobs but it will also perpetuate inequalities unless the Dublin government acts to redress economic imbalances in Irish society.

Last week's unemployment figures for the 26 Counties highlight these inequalities. The seasonal figure for those signing on dropped but the monthly live figure rose by 4,085. The number of women signing on rose by 4,289 as well as the number of under 25s, which rose by 1,826.

These increases are because of the number of temporary teachers, cleaners and catering staff laid off at the end of June. These workers will not benefit from the information age. There are thousands more in similar industries and sectors who are on temporary contracts, are not entitled to holiday pay and cannot amass full pension contributions.

There is little point in having an `information age' economy, creating huge wealth and profits if all the people of the 26 Counties are not benefiting. We need to spend the surplus on an agenda of equality and inclusion. Now is time to give all workers the benefits they deserve, to tackle the housing crisis, educational disadvantage and hospital waiting lists. Spend the billions now.

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland