Donegal needs to 'look local' in tackling jobs crisis

Responding to the ongoing debate about South Donegal's increasing jobs crisis, a Ballyshannon based organisation claims it has ideas and solutions to offer.

Coordinator of the Community Creations youth and cultural organisation Ruairķ McKiernan suggests that Donegal's decision makers need to take a whole new approach to employment and development in county.

''Unemployment in Donegal is at four times the National average with three out of four graduates leaving the county. Companies continue to transfer jobs to low cost economies and tourism, fishing and farming are all in rapid decline. This is nothing short of a crisis and must be treated as such. We need new perspectives to be brought to the table. This must start with a willingness to admit that the current policy of relying on foreign investment is doomed'' he claims.

Ruairķ, 27, is the Co-ordinator of Community Creations, which is a registered charity based in Ballyshannon. He co-founded the organisation with Laghey man Keith Corcoran in late 2003 when both men were seeking a way of applying their education and skills to the benefit of their local area. They were later joined by Rossnowlagh woman Anna Lally, also in her twenties, when she left her job as editor of an English language newspaper in Madrid to join the organisation.

Over the last year the trio have been busy making a name for themselves as innovators in the fields of youth health, culture and media. They recently launched the SpunOut.ie National Youth Website, which is receiving widespread acclaim in Ireland and abroad and was recently short-listed for a health service innovation award. They have also developed websites, published magazines, hosted art exhibitions, organised conferences and provided opportunities and part-time jobs for young people in South Donegal.

''Back in 2003 we had all spent time at university and working abroad and we didn't want to move to Dublin like so many young Irish people are forced to. We decided to take a risk and set-up a company that would harness our ideas and talents. We felt that Ballyshannon was the place to locate due to it's strong history of community and cultural enterprises and the fact that it suffers high unemployment because of it's border location, lack of investment and the brain drain of it's young people. Being able to live near our families and friends in such a beautiful area is an added bonus'' Ruairķ remarks.

It took the trio eight hard months of working from home, devising a business plan, applying for funds and setting up projects to truly get off the ground. Following a long search of Ballyshannon's many unused buildings they found their 'dream office' at the historic William Allingham House, birthplace of the famous poet.

The team at Community Creations strongly believe that innovative ventures like theirs can go a long way towards addressing the current jobs crisis.

Ruairķ points out ''multinational companies come and go. It's time we stopped depending on major foreign investment to solve our problems. Ireland has enough young, talented and educated people to create long-term solutions to the country's economic needs. Providing grants and supports to small and innovative ventures like ours is a much more sustainable way of moving forward. If we were given a tiny fraction of what the big corporations were given in grant aid we could create more jobs and those jobs would be less likely to move abroad as the people and ideas are local.''

He adds ''the global economy has changed radically and places like Donegal can no longer compete on costs. We need to embrace innovation and technology as a way of lessening our geographic isolation as well as preserving and highlighting the natural beauty of this unique county.''

Ruairķ says they get hundreds of emails every week through their SpunOut.ie website from all over Ireland and abroad. Many people assume they are based in Dublin and are pleasantly surprised to hear that Donegal is leading the way in youth media and innovation.

He is appealing for support for small enterprise, which he claims is 'struggling amidst red tape and a lack of financial support.'

''It's very possible to create 500 jobs by investing in 50 small enterprises and supporting their growth. These could be recycling centres, tourism co-ops, small food producers or software companies. The possibilities are endless but they depend on the commitment of politicians, policy makers and funding agencies to support organisations like ours and have confidence in our ability to create employment and positive social change'' he concludes.

31/8/05