Wexford TD Criticises IDA for Lack of Local Job Creation

Labour TD George Lawlor has voiced strong criticism of the IDA and the Government over what he describes as a continued lack of job creation and investment in County Wexford, especially in the wake of the BNY Mellon job losses announced earlier this year.

Speaking on Morning Mix Deputy Lawlor highlighted the contrast between the recent announcement of 75 new IDA-supported software engineering jobs at IBM in Waterford and the absence of any similar positive developments for Wexford.

“We’re receiving emails from the IDA announcing job creation in Waterford, while here in Wexford we’re still dealing with the fallout from the BNY Mellon closure,” said Lawlor. “Where is the urgency to deliver for Wexford?”

BNY Mellon’s decision to shut its Wexford town operation in January represented one of the largest job losses in the country at the time. Despite the scale of the blow, Deputy Lawlor said the response from government has been “insipid and bland.” A recent parliamentary question he submitted about efforts to find a replacement employer for the BNY Mellon site yielded what he described as a vague commitment to “support affected employees” rather than any concrete plans to attract new industry.

“That’s not a strategy for job creation – that’s a checklist for a closure,” Lawlor said bluntly.

He urged the government to consider purchasing the former BNY Mellon premises to develop an “IDA-ready” facility that could attract new business quickly. He added that more coordinated efforts are urgently needed from Wexford’s entire Oireachtas delegation to ensure the county doesn’t continue to fall behind its neighbours in terms of economic opportunity.

“Wexford has a senior Cabinet Minister. That’s supposed to mean delivery. We’ve had one of the biggest job losses in the country this year and we’re still waiting for a meaningful response,” Lawlor said.

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