Some 1,500 people applied for three county council jobs - TD

A claim that over 1,500 people applied for just three positions recently advertised by Westmeath County Council has been made by Deputy Robert Troy.

“That is clear proof if we needed it that the much fabled, Government action plan on jobs has well and truly by-passed Mullingar,” the Ballynacargy man said this week.

The three jobs on offer were for clerical officers.

“The numbers that have applied in this instance are staggering,” said Deputy Troy.

“It is obvious from these figures that there needs to be a focus from the Government on job creation within this region.

“We have seen jobs losses recently at Imperial Tobacco and there has been no progress in terms of replacing these jobs.

“The Minister and the Fine Gael led Government at large have not prioritised job creation within the region and towns like Mullingar are suffering badly.

“You can see from the number of applications for these positions that people are desperate to work and the Government need to encourage employers to towns like Mullingar. The IDA Business Park in Marlinstown is waiting for these companies to come along.”