North Cork town needs more jobs for expanding population, say councillors

A plan is being drawn up to attract more industry to one of North Cork’s major towns, amid fears of it becoming a ‘dormitory town’ with residents commuting to jobs elsewhere.

About 1,000 people travel daily from Mallow to Little Island to work, with more commuting to work in Cork city and further afield.

The county council is to contact the IDA and Enterprise Ireland and speak with local stakeholders to attract more industry to the town.

Fine Gael councillor Liam Madden told a council meeting in Mallow that a strategic review of jobs is needed.

Mr Madden said huge money is being spent making the town a more attractive place to live, such as development of the castle grounds, walking trails, new sports facilities, and a planned theatre in the former town hall.

However, he said, as more houses are being built in Mallow, more local jobs are needed. The growing population will soon put pressure on schools, he added.

Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Hayes concurred.

“We have lost Nestlé, the sugar factory, and a lot of Dairygold jobs, which we haven’t replaced, and there needs to be a more concentrated effort put into addressing this,” he said.

“We need a clear vision for further development. More emphasis needs to be put on attracting more businesses. There are 1,000 cars leaving Mallow every morning for Little Island, because there are no jobs here."

Population increasing

Major upgrades of the town’s water and wastewater infrastructure are enabling house building in the town, and the population is increasing all the time.

Labour councillor Ronan Sheehan said projections show that Mallow will soon have a population of 16,000, and that more local jobs have to be created.

Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy, who is chairman of the Mallow/Kanturk Municipal District Council, said that Mallow will become increasingly attractive when its planned northern bypass and the M20 motorway between Limerick and Cork are completed.

Municipal district officer Claire Barr said the council is seeking to “sustainably strengthen the employment-led growth and town centre-led regeneration of Mallow as a regional economic driver, and leverage its strategic location and accessibility on inter-regional road and rail networks to build upon inherent strengths, in particular food production”.