McCauley’s decision ‘won’t be reversed’

THE decision by the Board of Sam McCauley Chemist Ltd to re-locate from its existing base in Wexford town to a new location in Citywest, Dublin, will not be reversed.

Labour Party leader, Deputy Brendan Howlin met with the Chairperson of the Board, Jimmy Toland, on Thursday and speaking to this newspaper he confirmed and expressed regret that McCauley’s are not for turning.

‘It was a productive meeting and I raised not just my concerns but the concerns of the business community in Wexford,’ he said.

‘However, I can confirm that the decision to move is irreversible and that is very unfortunate,’ he added.

Deputy Howlin outlined two key issues at the meeting, the first being the impression given by the company that a lack of suitably skilled workers in the Model County was the reason behind the move.

It was a view that angered or concerned many within the business community here, including the former Chairperson of Wexford Chamber, Niall Reck.

In the wake of Thursdays meeting Deputy Howlin said he got the impression that while Wexford is a great place to do business it does not suit the needs of the business right now.

‘ Their business model suggests they would recruit who they need in Dublin,’ he said.

There are around 150 people employed by the business in Wexford within the retail sector and according to the CEO of the company, Tony McEntee, ongoing growth is a key strategy of the company but to facilitate that the move of the company’s headquarters outside the county to Dublin is inevitable.

‘ To grow McCauley to become a nationwide business, we need to be based in a location that is more easily accessible and where the necessary specialist skills are more readily available,’ he told this newspaper.

‘ The Citywest location that we are moving to meets these criteria.’

Mr McEntee also said that the business plans to find a team of online marketers but was struggling to find the suitable people locally.

However, he also said the company’s commitment to investing ‘significantly’ in County Wexford is ‘very strong and unquestioned’.

The company is in the process of opening a new store in Enniscorthy while expanding its business in New Ross.

Mr McEntee also confirmed that a new store is to be opened in Wexford town in the New Year.

McCauley’s decision to move their HQ to Dublin was also discussed at last week’s meeting of Wexford County Council where officials and councillors expressed their concerns at the ‘wrong’ message the reason given for the move was sending out about Wexford.

Cllr Paddy Kavanagh said: ‘Everything seems to be moving to Dublin which is at bursting point. Nothing seems to come back here.’

‘We are here building tech parks trying to encourage this type of business to stay in the county and blatantly they say that we can’t get the right type of IT people here in the south east.’

CEO Tom Enright said: ‘We are all disappointed, particularly when the wrong message is going out. I talked to the CEO and asked him not to come out with that message because it’s not true.’

Mr Enright said 30 per cent of professionals from County Wexford travel to other counties, mainly County Dublin, for work.

‘We are seeing companies who want to locate here due to the availability of talent and the space. If they make a proper effort to look for it, the staff are here. We will keep the pressure on them.’

Mr Enright said the council has offered McCauley’s alternative accommodation elsewhere in the county.