SENATOR LORRAINE HIGGINS working with Dessie O’Brien
TAKING GORT FORWARD The Labour Party Summer 2014 CREATING JOBS LOCALLY The IDA have not announced any new investment from multi-national companies in Gort for some number of years . The delivery of a multi-national company to this area is critical to the future of this town and creating jobs. We will work to put pressure on IDA Ireland to ensure Gort gets it's fair share of foreign direct investment coming into the country. We will also work to ensure any red tape with regard to planning, bureaucracy etc is overcome so as to ensure the earliest possible delivery of jobs to the Gort area.
BOOSTING LOCAL TOURISM We need to capitalise on what we have in this town and have a vision for what we can deliver. With the strong links to Yeats and Lady Gregory we need to further tap into this ready made market and work with Failte Ireland to develop this further. This is essential to ensure we retain our local jobs and create some more. Businesses in this town are paying business rates to Galway County Council and are getting very little for them. We believe a percentage of these rates should be used for the purposes of marketing Gort both nationally and internationally. Money should be spent on branding and strategy to encourage more visitors. We need to have a new vision as to how we can encourage people here so as to help businesses and create jobs. A marketing strategy and a marketing fund is key to delivering on this.
PROVIDING PROPER FOOTPATH ACCESS Despite the number of estates constructed in Gort over the past ten years and the possible millions acquired in development contributions it seems no effort was made to ensure that money was spent in Gort for the betterment of the area. We need and expect more and fight to deliver our fair share of funding from Galway County Council so we can enhance this town.
NEED FOR COMMUTER TRAIN TICKET PRICES If we lived in commuter areas in Dublin we would benefit from reduced fares. So why not for people travelling to Galway each day on our trains? This would suit commuters, tourists and travellers alike and help us build on the numbers visiting Gort. We are working to deliver price savings for commuters in Gort.
TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES Despite speed limits on the outskirts of Gort there still remains an issue with cars speeding in this area. With a number of elderly, infirm and young residents here this presents a significant danger to all. This needs to be addressed and you have our commitment to working hard to alleviate this risk.