Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There was a major setback in the county a number of years ago when the sugar industry was closed in Carlow. At the same time, the Braun manufacturing facility closed. At their peak, these industries employed approximately 1,100 to 1,200 people. While Merck Sharp & Dohme has come on stream since, those jobs have not been replaced. While there are jobs at the lower end of the employment spectrum, facilities must be established in the area to replace what was provided in the past. The promised advance facility would be key in finding replacements for these jobs. It must come on stream soon to tie in with the prospective establishment of a technological university in the south east. It is important that they come on stream at the same time. I am disappointed that we are talking about the end of 2019 for the provision of the advance facility which initially was supposed to be in place at the end of 2018 . It has now been pushed out by another year. I would like to see a little more progress in the near future.

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