asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy the total number of redundancies which have occurred in Irish industry since January 1973; and if he will give an estimate of the total number of such redundancies caused, directly or indirectly, by the effects of free trade.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Industrial Redundancies.
11.
Manufacturing firms are not obliged to notify me of their intention to make workers redundant. The number of redundancies in manufacturing industry notified to the Department of Labour as qualified under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967-1973 in the period 1 January 1973 to 31 December 1977 was 34,361.
Redundancies in manufacturing firms can be caused by various factors, including rationalisation measures, technological changes, changes in market demand, a fall-off in demand due to cyclical conditions and general economic recession, low productivity, industrial disputes, weak management and poor financial control. The experience has been that redundancies are due to a combination of such factors rather than to any one factor. Accordingly, it is not possible to estimate, with any degree of accuracy, the number of redundancies resulting from free trade.
Could the Minister give a regional breakdown of the number of redundancies last year or for any of the years listed?
No, not on a regional basis. That information was not asked for. Offhand, I should say that the largest number was in Dublin over the last four or five years.
Could the Minister say if the employment creation prospects or promises set out by the Government included an allowance for redundancies and, if so, what annual rate of redundancy was allowed for?
That is a completely separate question. I have not that information.