“Positivity breeds positivity,” said Michael Garland when assessing the state of Waterford and the south east, stressing that we need more of it in print, over the airwaves and in our general daily discourse. “And you can never, ever, have enough positivity.” The modern retail, industrial and economic woes of Waterford are well-known, painfully so. And in the former Waterford Chamber Chief Executive’s view, we all need to change the record.
He also believes the pending local authority merger has seen “too many politicians taking their eye off the matters truly worth focusing on,” in Mr Garland’s view. “If the county is doing well, then that in turn means the city will do well and vice-versa; you’re talking about positive spill-overs for both County Waterford and Waterford City, and that in turn can only work as a positive for the south east.
“So it’s incumbent that we’re all very cognisant of that going forward, whether we’re based in the city, Dungarvan, New Ross, Carrick-on-Suir and so on.
