.
Tralee Chamber Alliance CEO, Kieran Ruttledge.
A SERIES of meetings are scheduled to take place this week between Tralee Chamber Alliance and Kerry Dáil representatives who will be asked to outline their strategy for job creation in Tralee.
The meetings come as Tralee Chamber Alliance says all five Kerry TDs must deliver on their election promises to create and maintain jobs in Tralee and to provide a strong voice for the business interests of the county capital, during and after negotiations to form a new Government.
The CEO of Tralee Chamber Alliance, Kieran Ruttledge, said: “Unemployment grew in Tralee, under successive governments, during the Celtic Tiger years and in more recent times. Our local public representatives who may support a minority Government and in opposition, must ensure that job creation remains a political priority. They need to keep job creation in Tralee at the top of the agenda. To achieve this, there must be support for policies that encourage enterprise and entrepreneurship which in turn creates jobs locally.”
Tralee Chamber Alliance represents the interests of over 230 businesses across all sectors in Tralee and its members believe that it is imperative that economic recovery and job creation remain at the forefront of the next Government’s agenda and are reflected in policy.
A number of challenges pose serious risks to the recovery in Tralee and require immediate focus and investment including increasingly high business costs, skills mismatches in the economy which threaten to halt future employment growth, and insufficient infrastructure investment constraining future growth.
Tralee Chamber Alliance welcomed the continued reduction in the national unemployment figures, currently down to 8.6% for the first time since 2008, but he expressed concern that this trend has not been reflected in the recent live register figures for Tralee.
“The five Kerry TDs must ensure that policies that can further reduce unemployment are maintained and prioritised by the next Government,” said Kieran Ruttledge.
