Figures issued by the Central Statistics Office, which show average disposable incomes among householders in Co Offaly are the lowest in the State, have provoked calls for action on job creation in the county.
The figures show average disposable incomes in the county were £7,794 in 1998, the latest year for which statistics are available. The average in the State was £9,324, while Dubliners were top of the earnings table with average disposable incomes per household of £10,825.
Mr Jack Keyes, director of community and enterprise with Offaly County Council, who is involved with task forces set up to try and find replacement industries for those lost to the county, said the figures reflected reality.
"They are 1998 figures, but since that time there has been a further downturn in employment in the county because of downsizing by the ESB and Bord na Mona. The position is likely to have changed little," he said. However, he is confident things will turn around.
"We are just in a bit of a trough at the moment."
He said an umbrella group had been set up by the county council to co-ordinate the work of three jobs task forces in the county: one in Tullamore to seek replacement jobs for those lost at Lowe Alpine, one in west Offaly, and a third, called the Oak Partnership, covering north Offaly and west Kildare.
The group plans to lobby for government support and is working with the county development board on a five-year strategy for the county.
Explaining why incomes in Offaly were on average lower than elsewhere, Mr Keyes said 34 per cent of the workforce was engaged in agriculture, which was far higher than the national average of 20 per cent. "A lot of these farms are gradually becoming non-viable, and the disappearance of part-time work in Bord na Mona in particular affected them," he said.
An in-depth analysis had been carried out on the situation in the county and a meeting had been sought with the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, to discuss their plight.
A Tullamore Fine Gael councillor, Mr Tommy McKeigue, said the CSO figures made grim reading. "I was surprised when we dipped below both Leitrim and Roscommon, but the Council for the West has got them up and going," he said.
"We haven't got any of the high-tech companies like Intel that pay big wages. If we can't get one of the high-tech industries to employ graduates from the county we are in big trouble. They are a major drain of our resources from the county," he said.
Ms Olwyn Enright, also a FG councillor, described the figures as shocking. "We knew things were going bad but did not realise how bad it was," she said.
Unemployment figures had grown consistently in Birr despite the Celtic Tiger, and an advance factory in the town was lying idle. "We have been looking to meet Mary Harney for six months at least and she hasn't even acknowledged our request. That attitude is just not good enough," she added.
A spokesman for the Tanaiste said it simply had not been possible for her to arrange a meeting with the task force because of a heavy schedule of engagements. However, the request would be considered, he confirmed.