Readers of The Irish Times last Wednesday must have been taken aback when they read a half-page article under the headline "Deprivation takes gloss off Carlow boom". The idea that total deprivation (scoring 10 out of 10) exists in Carlow is absurd. One associates deprivation on that level with places like the slums of Calcutta.
The Irish Times was reporting in its From the South East column on a report prepared by the chief executive of the Carlow Enterprise Board, Mr Pat O'Meara, based on census figures from 1996.
Carlow, like every other county in Ireland, has not yet reached perfection and Carlow people are entitled to look for more facilities - just as people in every other county do. Unfortunately, the chief executive's report was taken up by the media and the damage it may do Carlow is incalculable.
The report's findings were of dubious value because the figures used are already out of date.
Giving examples of parts of the county that were categorised as totally deprived was also questionable. The criteria used for this assessment had headings like the number of single parents (widows and widowers come under this heading), the number of unskilled workers and the number of homes with two cars.
Using these figures one could certainly get a result. But it would come under the category of "lies, damn lies and statistics".
Could one say that it showed where deprivation existed? Not at all - it could show disadvantage but not deprivation, in the normal sense. The building of an advance factory - now occupied by an American firm - in Carlow town last year was a marvellous step and the possible building of another advance factory will force the IDA to wake up to Carlow's needs. This is what helps - action rather than pessimism.
I couldn't decide if the Enterprise Board report was for or against the concept of local enterprise leading the way, rather than waiting for "someone" to do "something".
An article about the report which appeared in The Nationalist further gave the impression that Carlow had no tourist product to attract year-round visitors but this has not discouraged the members of Carlow Rural Tourism, hoteliers and others from dealing with what we do have.
It is not that easy to bring the Lakes of Killarney, Kilkenny Castle or the Book of Kells to Carlow. But we have Mount Leinster, the River Barrow, St Mullin's and the largest dolmen in Europe, to mention but a few of our attractions.
Carlow is an ideal centre for industry, being 50 miles from Dublin and the same distance from the ports of Waterford and Rosslare. It has a train service to Dublin/Waterford and a boom in good housing. It has a highly-skilled workforce and the Carlow Institute of Technology is available to help in research and in the supplying of highly-qualified graduates.
To any sensible, intelligent investor I say: "Follow me up to Carlow." John Browne TD (Fine Gael) represents Carlow-Kilkenny in Dail Eireann.