My colleague, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, received information from Údarás na Gaeltachta that shows that 89 units owned by Údarás are currently vacant. Eight of these units are located on Údarás na Gaeltachta sites across Co Mayo. One such unit in Béal an Mhuirthead has been lying empty for 20 years. It is hard to believe that no use has been found for this unit since 1999.
Instead of lying empty, these, and similar units, could be used to help start-up businesses, community groups or charities. Even letting the premises for free is better than seeing such a valuable public asset lying idle for such a long period.
I am calling on the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to facilitate greater co-operation between the IDA, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Enterprise Ireland to ensure that these vacant sites are taken into account and fully utilised.
In order to achieve this we need to see far more site visits to the county, especially Gaeltacht areas, by the IDA. Up to November 2018, there were only 7 such IDA visits to Mayo last year.
If the Government is serious about creating jobs in Co Mayo, then all the available infrastructure need to be utilised and this simply will not happen if they don’t bother coming out on the ground to see and assess for themselves.
