Listowel sitting on an itinerant timebomb says Cllr
LISTOWEL is sitting on a time-bomb because of the number of itinerants unemployed in the town, it was claimed this week by a member of the local Urban Council.
Mr Robert Pierse, in pressing for the provision of a training workshop for itinerants in Listowel, declared at Tuesday’s Council meeting: “We are sitting on a time-bomb...because they are doing nothing and they are out and fighting.”
The matter was raised following the reading of a letter from ANCO, the industrial training authority, which stated that there was a workshop in Killarney for the training of itinerant girls and it was hoped to establish one for boys there as well.
The letter intimated it was hoped to operate two workshops in Kerry at the one time and that the situation in Kerry would be kept under review.
Mr Pierse complained that Listowel always seemed to come after other places. Listowel did not get the County Council or Government offices in the county, he said. In regard to the training of itinerants, he said, Listowel had more than its share of untrained itinerants.
Mr Albert Kennedy said there were too many itinerants and he felt the council should pursue the matter again about provision of a workshop.
Mr Michael Barrett said there was no reason why a workshop should not be successful in Listowel.
Miss Marie Gorman said the one in Killarney must be successful, otherwise a second workshop would hardly be proposed there.
Mr Kennedy said there were some highly tradesmen among the itinerants and were able to work as tinsmen with very little equipment.
County Manager Tom Collins said they were sitting on a time-bomb in more than the case of training itinerants because of the general wave of unemployment was a time-bomb.