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Spend in Mayo - our futures are at stake By Tom Shiel In the wake of dismal figures which show that County Mayo is languishing near the bottom of the economic performance table, a former Mayoman of the Year has issued a clarion call for determined and concentrated community action to halt the slide. Mr. Brian Mooney says that while ultimately the Government would have to play a key role in the revival of impoverished counties it was up to the ordinary men and women of the community to begin the renewal by spending their money locally. Otherwise, Mr. Mooney warned, further jobs will be lost and small villages will lose vital services such as the corner shop and petrol pump. Urging people to "Buy Mayo" and "Buy West", the Kiltimagh businessman warned that the big multinational stores, which sucked in droves of shoppers from a large radius, posed an insidious threat to the future of rural towns and villages. Coaches had left rural counties before Christmas to spend large amounts with big multinationals who were siphoning profits out of the country and investing it elsewhere. Central supplying was about to become a big issue for the west, Mr. Mooney warned, and some jobs would be lost as a result. For example, as part of the drift towards centralisation, ice-cream sold in the west will be distributed from Dublin . Another worrying development was the sale by the big multi-national stores of sandwiches which had been prepared and packed in London. They were flown into Ireland on the morning of sale posing a threat to jobs in the catering sector here. Mr. Mooney's appeal and comments followed the publication late last month of the latest report from the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) which shows that four counties, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Cavan are suffering not only from poor development and a declining population but from high old-age dependency ratios. The Report pointed to a population decline of more than 20 per cent in the four western/border counties over the past 45 years and contrasted this with the rapid growth of the Dublin region. Even when compared with neighbouring Galway, Mayo is faring badly both from a population and development point of view. Galway has continued its population growth since the 1970's while Mayo has seen its 1970's population growth cancelled out in the late 1980's. Population density in Mayo in 1996 was similar to that of Roscommon and only second lowest after Leitrim. Commenting on the NESC Report, yesterday (Tuesday), Mr. Mooney said the results weren't surprising. Population decline in Mayo had already resulted in the county losing a TD. Government thinking wasn't focussed Mayo last on Mayo or the other deprived areas, Mr. Mooney maintained. Out of the 111 State Agencies, 97 are in Mayo, he stated. Not one job had been created by the Government in Mayo last year, Mr. Mooney added.
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