Omagh "open for business", says McElduff

Sinn Fein assemblyman says town should be "a hub for public sector jobs", after meeting with Communities Minister Givan at Stormont

West Tyrone MLA Barry McElduff met with Minister for Communities Paul Givan in Stormont yesterday over jobs restructuring at the Omagh Jobs and Benefits office.

The Sinn Fein assemblyman attended the meeting alongside fellow constituency MLAs Thomas Buchanan (DUP) and Daniel McCrossan (SDLP).

The discussion centred on a decision by the Social Security Agency "to close Social Fund and Crisis Loan tele-claims" at the Omagh branch of the Jobs and Benefits office.

There were further discussions on the relocation of some staff from Omagh to Dungannon.

"I was very pleased that Tom Buchanan MLA and Daniel McCrossan MLA could join me in a cross-party delegation for a meeting with the Minister for Communities Paul Givan," Barry McElduff told Q radio.

"Essentially, we set out on a journey to retain and grow public sector jobs in Omagh," he said.

"I'm now concerned at this proposal to relocate a number of Social Security Agency and Jobs and Benefits jobs from Omagh to Dungannon," he added.

The Sinn Fein representative said he wanted Omagh to become a "hub for public sector jobs", saying that this latest decision "flies in the face" of that proposed status.

"I want Omagh identified as a hub for public sector jobs, and I think this decision flies in the face of that status as an ideal centre for such jobs," he said.

But, according to the veteran republican, he and his fellow West Tyrone MLAs were told such status was "weakened by the Social Security Agency's inability" to recruit the requisite candidates to fill the posts in the town.

"Minister Givan stated that the case for Omagh in this matter was weakened by the Social Security Agency's inability to recruit EO2 grades," he said.

"There's been a lot of 'to-ing and fro-ing' on that issue among staff, unions and the department - but really our message as a collective today is that Omagh is open for business as a public sector town," he said.

McElduff believes the county town already has the requisite infrastructure to sustain "as many as a thousand" jobs in Omagh. He also restated his desire to see more of the town's working population live and work here.

"We'd like to see as many as a thousand jobs in Omagh - we have a brand-new building at the Gortrush Industrial Estate, that could benefit from top class broadband thanks to its proximity to Project Kelvin - my message to the minister and the other ministries is: Omagh is open for business and I don't want to see the people of this town in the park and shares  every morning, I want them to stay and live and work in Omagh," he said.