The Independent Candidate, Charlie McClafferty, has said figures show that Donegal’s unemployment rate is actually twice the national average.
Charlie McClafferty
He said “We hear lots of references to the latest Central Statistics Office results that the average unemployment rate has fallen to 11.3 % nationally and talk of a gradual recovery.
“But clearly Donegal is entirely adrift economically, from the rest of the country, and the Donegal unemployment rate is twice the national average.”
The detailed results from the 2011 Census are available on the Central Statistics Office Website, he says.
They show Donegal had 18,869 people unemployed in April 2011. As a result, Donegal had the highest rate of unemployment of any county in Ireland in 2011.
There were 72,146 persons aged 15 years and over in the Labour force and of these, 73.8 per cent (53,277 persons) were at work. The unemployment rate in Donegal in 2001 was 26.2% compared with a national average rate of 19.0 per cent, in April 2011.
McClafferty added, “The latest figures show that there are 19,210 Donegal people on the live register in April 2014. (There are 19,588 people in Letterkenny itself, for comparison).
“My team and I cannot access the size of the Donegal Workforce in 2014. The Donegal workforce could not conceivably have suddenly grown over the last three years from 72,000 ( Census Figures April ’11) to 85,000 at present (x 0.226 =19,210). Remember, a separate report has shown that Donegal has the second highest rate of Emigration in Ireland (after Mayo) and an above average aging population. Therefore, I am satisfied that Donegal’s Unemployment Rate is still over 22.6% and hence twice the National Average.
McClafferty said, “I challenge any Government spokesperson or any Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael Candidate to demonstrate that Donegal’s Unemployment is not twice the National Average.”
He added that An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, was very reluctant to meet any local media during his recent visit to Donegal.
“We know he completely sidetracked the coverage of the recent findings on rural development (CEDRA), which contained a very clear visual portrayal of Donegal’s comparative level of Unemployment. We know businesses are struggling and we know Donegal has the lowest disposable income nationally. But we need honesty to discuss all the underlying reasons.
McClafferty added, “I am asking all Donegal County Council Candidates to focus on the issue of Donegal Unemployment. I think Candidates from the two main Parties, as representatives of recent Governments, should explain their ‘so-called’ influence in achieving these figures, over the last decade.”
“These shocking economic and human figures are routinely hidden. There is no transparency and openness. That is why I suggested to Voters, ‘Don’t be a Donegal Mushroom – kept in the Dark and Fed Manure’. Both Political Parties in Donegal should be ashamed of their inaction as regards Donegal’s Unemployed. Job Creation, through a Donegal Economic Stimulus Package, needs to be top of the Next Donegal County Council’s Agenda. “
