And Speaking Of Better Days - WWRD & WIT

I'm sure that everyone in Waterford will have felt a warm glow when the news was 'officially' announced today in Dublin by Waterford City Council and WWRD Holdings Ltd, that Waterford Crystal will once again be manufactured in the City from this summer in the old ESB buildings on The Mall. You can see an artists impression above - and really fantastic it looks.

We sincerely hope, in the City Council that this project will kick start a rejuvenation of Waterford and the beginning of a new era of confidence. We hope that The Mall and Viking Triangle areas from Bolton Street to High Street will see and feel immediate benefits and that these will ripple out into the wider city - and indeed the psyche of Waterford.

We in Waterford have suffered a number of severe blows in recent times without doubt. And in fact there are still issues that need not to be forgotten about and fought for - like the pensions of those Waterford Crystal workers. But that does not belie the fact that, if we take it, we are on the cusp of an era of new opportunity in Waterford.

The final piece of the jigsaw for me and for many others would be the delivery - and soon - of University designation for WIT.

WIT is operating in my opinion (and the opinions of many others) at a higher level already, than some of the Universities in this state. It simply cannot be made to suffer an artificial distinction any longer. Once again I am calling on the Minister for Education - a man who is not afraid to make decisions - to designate Waterford Institute of Technology as a University without delay. This will ensure that Waterford and the South East will play a huge part in delivering the recovery of Ireland plc. This we guarantee!

Short of this - and heading into yet another year (is it four years now?) since we submitted our application for University designation, it was very interesting to read in the Sunday papers yesterday that one Michael Lowry TD has announced that he has 'saved' Tipperary Institute'. The Independent TD assured the Government that he would withdraw his support for them if there was any threat to carry out the recommendation of the McCarthy Report and decommission TI which is in the heart of his constituency!!!

Now I wonder if Martin Cullen (whose own colleagues - according to himself only last week - deserted him in varying degree when he was put through the ringer in the media in relation to those lies recently) or Brendan Kenneally were reading that story? And I wonder if they would consider putting the Government under the same pressure for WIT in their constituency?

Now that's something I'd personally love to see. And obviously, it works. Tipperary Institute is to be merged with Limerick Institute of Technology and its' (huge) budget is to remain untouched (according to Mr Lowry anyway). Good luck to them!

But I want to end on a positive note for Waterford. Congratulations to WWRD and KPS for their decision to stick with and invest in Waterford City and to continue to manufacture crystal here. I think it will prove a very positive decision indeed for everyone. The potential is there for the manufacturing facility to get bigger - and for the city to capitalise on the incomparable brand that Waterford Crystal is. Today is a good day!