Committee to make recommendations on ways to encourage regional growth
The Jobs Committee will launch a report on ways to encourage employment in regional areas later today. It follows a series of hearings held last year to discuss the best ways to promote employment, while supporting job retention. The report includes 15 recommendations: including rate reductions by some local authorities for small independent businesses and free parking - for certain periods - in some towns. Deputy Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy is the Chair of the Committee. She outlines how the research came about. "The retail sector is a very, very important sector in our economy at the moment and they really need support" she said. "We feel that by implementing some - if not indeed all - of the recommendations, that it will help restore vibrancy to some of the towns and villages that have been experiencing a little bit of a decline in recent years" she added.