asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of redundancies which are expected to result in the motor car assembly industry from the decision of two assembly plants to cease this work in the near future; and the prospects these men have for future employment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers (Resumed). - Motor Assembly Redundancies.
79.
The recently announced plans of a motor vehicle manufacturer to set up a new plant to manufacture motor vehicle components also involves the phasing out of the assembly of that manufacturer's vehicles by two Irish assemblers. In reply to Dáil questions last month, I set out in some detail the arrangements that had been made last year by my predecessor with the manufacturer in question. Under these arrangements it was provided that the workers who would be displaced from motor vehicle assembly would, if they so wished and were suitable, be given reasonable opportunity of getting employment in the component manufacturing plant and that the manufacturer would cooperate fully in their retraining. The arrangements for setting up the new plant are still at the preliminary stage and arrangements have also to be completed relating to the phasing out of assembly in the two firms concerned.
At this stage, therefore, it would not be possible for me to indicate the possible level of redundancy that may arise in the next few years among the assembly workers. Neither would it be possible to indicate the employment prospects for any disemployed workers but I will do all in my power to help in providing suitable alternative employment for any workers disemployed as a result of this development.