asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that the union catering for the workers in a factory in Monaghan (name supplied) has received notice of the impending redundancy of 114 workers; and the action he proposes to take to remedy the position.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Monaghan Factory Redundancy.
60.
I am aware of the position of this firm. As I have indicated in reply to previous questions, our freedom of action in regard to measures to protect domestic industry is limited by the obligations arising from international agreements to which we are parties and in particular our membership of the EEC. The possibility of action being taken by or through the Community to ease the situation of sectors, including footwear, seriously affected by the present economic situation is one of the possible courses of action being explored.
Would the Minister agree that immediate action must be taken for an industry on which the economy of a small town is dependent and where not alone the present workers but their fathers before them were skilled operatives? In view of the seriousness of the loss of such jobs would the Minister take immediate action?
I share the Deputy's concern and, as I have said, possible courses of action are being explored as vigorously as possible but there are not immediate actions that I can take legally without the concurrence of other agencies. If the Deputy has practical suggestions for immediate actions of a helpful kind I will be very happy to listen to him.
Were there not practical proposals in the submissions from the shoe and leather workers union?
I had lengthy discussion with both the management and trade union side from the shoe industry. They put a number of suggestions to me which were discussed with them in detail. They, I believe, were satisfied that in the areas where activity was legally possible we were pursuing those possibilities vigorously.
Can the Minister say they are satisfied when they have to come out and march in support of their demands?
If the Deputy would read the official record that will appear of this exchange between us he will see that that last interjection is a sort of tendentious distortion of my original reply.
Is the Minister in principle against the banning or controlling of imports and if so why?
It is an extremely general question.
Imports of footwear. I understand the question relates to footwear. Is the Minister opposed in principle to controlling imports of footwear?
No, I am certainly not opposed in principle and there are a whole variety of controls on footwear imports in existence. Is the Deputy suggesting that such controls do not exist or that I am trying to dismantle them?
Adequate controls. They are inadequate at the moment.
We are party, by a number of international treaties, to international obligations. If the Deputy wants to recommend that they be lightly set aside he would then have to say that we are willing to face the consequences of such setting aside of international obligations.
Does the Minister not agree that countries which have run into economic difficulty within the EEC have done this unilaterally to protect their own workers? No answer.