We must look to ourselves to create the right conditions for jobs growth in this county

In the avalanche of bad news confronting us every day, it is hard for even a strong and resilient race like ourselves to find any glimmer of hope. The economy and its condition, along with the national finances, are at the centre of all our lives for the foreseeable future. There will be no escaping the hardships that lie ahead and we should not try to convince ourselves that there are any easy solutions to our problems. The dire reality of our situation, much of it hidden from us for so long, has sunk in. The best we can hope for is that the strong nations of Europe will do enough to save the European project and avoid a painful break-up. It may well be that our struggle to stay afloat, albeit as a very much diminished nation, may not be successful. All our national and personal resources will be needed for the task of rebuilding our country, of re-establishing our pride and regaining our sovereignty from the clutches of the IMF/ECB. All of us in employment, burdened as we are, owe it to the 440,000 of our fellow citizens to offer them some hope of an improvement in their job prospects. All of this gives us reason to raise the question of who is doing what in proposing solutions and who is contributing to the national debate about our future. Chambers Ireland, the organisation representing the chambers of commerce throughout the country, has commented on the government's first 100 days in office, praising it for some good public performances but marking it down for its failure so far to address difficult challenges. Its chief executive, Ian Talbot, said that the unemployment rate of 14 per cent "is not good enough for a country that only a few years ago was the envy of many of our neighbours". Chambers Ireland sees the need for continuing hard decisions on the part of the government if it is to make any real impact on our economic crisis. It recognises the value of the Jobs Initiative but says it represents only one small step in creating the right environment for job protection and creation. Creating the right environment for job creation and job protection should be our prime aim as we confront this crisis. We cling on to the hope that "somebody is doing something". In that regard, the government's initiative, though modest in its scale, is at least a start. At ground zero, as we might put it, the announcement last week by Meath County Council that it is to unveil the details of an economic recovery action plan next month represents a start at local level. This is not the time to wait around in hope that improvements in the national economy will somehow trickle down to Meath. Although the nuts and bolts of the plan have yet to be revealed, the council is at least taking a bold step in giving a lead on the jobs front. Of course, this initiative cannot in itself create jobs (the council has had an ongoing programme of reduction of its own staff numbers for some time) but it can create the right environment for job creation. It certainly makes a good point when it refers in its announcement of the launch of the plan to the recent reduction in the level of VAT on entertainment and social events and suggests that unless people spend their money in Meath, the value of that reduction will be lost to the county. It is so desperately important that each one of us rises to the occasion, in solidarity with all those running businesses and giving employment, and offers very tangible support by spending our money at home, here in this county, whenever possible. The council, which already spends a large part of its budget in goods and services within the county, wants to demonstrate a sense of urgency in getting its plan off the ground. It says it will contain strategic, focused and "ready to implement" action points which can help to create jobs on the ground in Meath. It stresses its sense of urgency throughout its announcement. This plan will not offer a long-term strategic, economic and social vision for the county. It says there is no time for that and points to its determination to address local barriers to economic growth. When the details are announced in a few weeks' time, it will not be enough for any of us to be interested bystanders. We are all in this together and every individual in the county must put a shoulder to the wheel in seeing that it is implemented.