Election candidate Paddy Harte
Election candidate Paddy Harte has said the wave of young people who emigrated around the world can return with their skills to help Donegal thrive.
The Letterkenny Fine Gael candidate is the father of two sons who have been living in London for many years.
He said “I understand the effect emigration has had on parents, friends and communities throughout the county. That said, I also appreciate the extent to which those working away from home can expand their skill-sets. In Donegal we should turn this initial loss into a future gain.
“The economy is now looking up. We know there are as many as 1000 new jobs now being created on a weekly basis in Ireland, with the sectors most in demand being IT, accounts, financial services, construction and sales.”
“We also know that thousands of our young people are working in these industries in Dublin, London, Boston and Melbourne, many graduating from LYIT, and now learning at the highest level in often challenging professional environments.”
“Having worked in education I have no doubt our young people can fill the jobs which are being created. We need to make sure these new jobs come to Donegal so that our emigrant young can follow. With my experience in economic development I know what it takes to do this.”
“Donegal has a proud heritage of our people working outside the county yet helping out the economy at home. It’s time to update this custom and encourage who have left to help the economy at home by being at home, using their skills to make Donegal thrive.”
“We should be encouraging repatriation employment packages, investigating potential tax breaks for returning emigrants and removing barriers to our young coming home. And if elected to Government I will make this my priority” concludes Paddy Harte.
Tags: