Taoiseach responds to Mayo Chamber president's plea for support

The president of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce has today engaged with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin in respect of a number of issues of concern to his organisation and the county town in general.

During the Fianna Fáil leader's visit to the offices of The Connaught Telegraph during his time in the county town to mark the 50th anniversary of Baxter, Bernard Hughes posed four questions to Mr. Martin.

They were:

1. Can priority be given to the establishment of another IDA advance factory in Castlebar?

2. Will the government pledge support to the future development the new ATU Mayo facility to ensure it is a game changer for the region?

3. Can a decision be made to invest in the Western Rail Corridor and feed into the momentum likely to be generated by the new ATU?

4. Will the government seriously consider, under new EU VAT rate rules, reducing the VAT rate to zero for the supply of print and electronic newspapers in order to help secure the future of journalism in Ireland?

Mr. Martin gave a commitment to give the four issues priority attention.

In a separate interview, Mr. Martin revealed how his government is planning to tackle healthcare and housing issues in Mayo.