Madam, - I write from Ballinasloe, a town which feels it is getting a raw deal from the powers that be. We feel very strongly about this, because as far as we can see we are going to have a battle on our hands to survive.
We are not looking for hand-outs for something for nothing. What we want is an opportunity to show what a really good town we have here, and what a first-rate working population we have available.
And they will be available, because when the American Square D factory closes in June, nearly 400 people will be unemployed. This is the second time this has happened in Ballinasloe. A.T. Cross, the American pen factory, closed here two years ago.
Some of us wonder whether the Government realises what is going on. Recently we read with interest about the grandiose plans being made for the West of Ireland and the Midlands, but we searched in vain for any mention of Ballinasloe. It was nowhere to be found. Overlooked, even though our last large source of employment is about to close.
I have no selfish motive in writing this letter. I am now retired after over 40 years working in the town as a community pharmacist, and I am in a position to say what a good town Ballinasloe really is. All it needs is the chance to prove it. - Yours, etc.,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.