Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Nov 1983

Vol. 346 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Proposed Closure of Tralee Factory.

Mr. McEllistrim

I would like to thank you for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. I would like to give a few minutes of my time to my colleague, Deputy Foley. I am raising this matter on the Adjournment because of the proposed closure of the Wabco-Westinghouse factory in Tralee. This factory manufacture signalling equipment for CIE and there are 61 people employed in that factory which gives very much needed employment in Tralee. Those workers got one month's protective notice two weeks ago and they are very worried about the possibility that they may lose their jobs. The reason that this protective notice was given was that the factory have not got an order from CIE to make signalling equipment for next year. Portion of the CIE signalling equipment on the mainlines has been replaced every year and all this equipment had been supplied by the Wabco factory.

The Wabco factory are put in great difficulty because CIE have not given an order to them for next year and this possibly will mean that the factory will close down some time in the New Year with the loss of 61 jobs. I ask the Minister for Industry and Energy and the Minister for Transport to save this factory for Tralee and ensure that those 61 jobs are maintained. The Government will be giving a subvention of probably £96 million to CIE this year. The Minister for Industry and Energy and the Minister for Transport could save this factory if they insisted that £1 million or possibly £1,500,000 of the subvention was allocated for signalling. If they did this the Wabco factory would be saved.

Most of the CIE signalling equipment on the mainlines is obsolete and is not adequate. My information is that this equipment from Dublin to Cork needs replacement. It is not too long since we had a few rail crashes. After the one at Buttevant there was a public inquiry. The findings of this inquiry stated that the signalling equipment was not up to standard so it is very important that the signalling equipment on all the mainlines is replaced. If CIE are to attract passengers back they must have a modern rail system equipped with the proper signalling equipment, so CIE will have to bring up their signalling equipment to international standards. It is very important that we have a factory like Wabco to make the signalling equipment which will be required by CIE. This is the only factory in Ireland which makes this type of equipment so it is up to the Minister for Industry and Energy and the Minister for Transport to rescue this factory. If they do not do this the signalling equipment which CIE will need in the future will have to be imported. This will mean 61 more people in Tralee on the dole.

The Wabco factory have submitted to CIE proposals for air conditioning equipment which CIE instal in the new railway carriages they are manufacturing. That equipment which is being imported at the moment could be made by Wabco. No extra machinery is required to make this type of equipment. The Minister should investigate that and have the order given to Wabco. This would ensure that the factory would not close.

Tralee has suffered a great deal from factory closures in recent times, the most recent one being the Kingdom Tubes factory, which closed down with a loss of 295 jobs. Very little was done by the Government to rescue this factory. We also had the Burlington textile factory in Tralee who at one time employed 940 people and now employ fewer than 400. The number unemployed in Tralee and the surrounding areas is the highest in the country. Tralee and North Kerry were declared a disaster area by the IDA some time ago. In the past the industrialisation of Kerry was controlled from Cork but Kerry needed industry so much that the IDA decided to send one of their personnel permanently to Tralee. The factory management and workers got in touch with the Minister for the Environment last June. I saw a copy of the reply they received from him on 6 July acknowledging their representations but to date they have not received any further correspondence from the Minister for the Environment.

It is no harm to point out that Deputy Spring represents this constituency and there is a duty on him to work to ensure that the factory is kept open. We were hopeful in North Kerry that Deputy Spring might succeed in having the Kingdom Tubes factory re-opened but that did not materialise and there was great disappointment throughout the constituency. I should like to appeal to the Ministers for Industry and Energy and Transport to ensure that CIE make a special allocation next year to be used for the purchase of equipment from that factory. I suggest that they allocate £1 million from the Government subvention for the purchase of such equipment. The management of the Tralee factory told me that if they got £1 million from CIE the factory would be viable. That factory also make signalling equipment for Northern Ireland.

There is a duty on those Ministers and on the Tánaiste, Deputy Spring, to ensure that CIE make money available to modernise the signalling equipment on the main rail lines. If CIE are to make money they must modernise that system. It is no harm to point out that there is a need for new equipment on the Dublin-Cork line. Action must be taken now to ensure that the 61 jobs in that factory are saved. Signalling equipment should not be imported. I understand that IDA executives travel around the world trying to encourage industrialists to establish factories here but in Tralee we have an industry which, if it was guaranteed £1 million from CIE annually, would be viable and maintain 61 jobs. The factory is most important for Tralee, a town which has had massive unemployment in recent years. I appeal to all concerned to take all steps necessary to ensure that the factory is kept open. I hope the Tánaiste, Deputy Spring, will lend a hand to the efforts being made to do this.

Mr. Foley

I should like to support the case made by Deputy McEllistrim on behalf of the workers at the Wabco-Westinghouse factory in Tralee. It is important to note that 61 families in the town depend on the factory. CIE are in a position to help keep the factory open. The Minister for Industry and Energy should use his influence with CIE to have a contract for signalling equipment placed with this concern. If that is not done the equipment will have to be imported. I understand that the Tralee factory has put in a very competitive tender for the supply of the equipment. Some slight adjustments will have to be made but in view of the fact that the jobs of so many workers are at stake the Minister should give priority to the Tralee concern.

Tralee has been a black spot on the employment scene in recent years. During those years the town, and the north Kerry region, lost 2,680 jobs, a figure that has been accepted by the IDA. The IDA report for 1982 indicated that of the fixed asset investment of £143 million the Kerry region received £4 million while Cork got £139 million. In the year under review in that report Cork secured in the region of 3,000 jobs while Kerry got 1,400. That represented a net gain for Cork of almost 2,000 jobs. During that period Kerry suffered a net loss of 1,300. The situation in Tralee is being highlighted at present by the workers who have embarked on a sit-in protest at Kingdom Tubes. The difficulty there has been going on for nine months and workers had hoped that a package would be put together to save that factory but there is little hope for them. A public meeting has been called for next Monday night in Tralee to highlight the situation.

On Friday last the workers in the local PMPA garage were given one week's notice. Those workers are endeavouring to take over the concern as a workers co-op but their proposals have been refused by the administrator. There is no doubt but that Tralee is in a very bad situation, possibly the worst in the country. The Minister has an opportunity to save this factory and he can do so by instructing CIE to put some of the massive Government subvention they get into that concern. Such a move would mean that the jobs of the 61 workers would be saved. I endorse the appeal by Deputy McEllistrim. It will be too bad if the factory is allowed to close because CIE did not place a contract for the purchase of signalling equipment with them. Like the rest of Ireland North Kerry has a very young population. Tralee can boast an exceptional regional college and AnCO training centre. However, in the last four years we have lost eight factories. The onus is on the Minister to direct CIE to place the contract with the Tralee concern. I should like to thank Deputy McEllistrim for giving me an opportunity to raise this matter.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture (Mr. Connaughton)

Like the Deputies I am very concerned about the employment situation in the Tralee area and I fully share the regrets expressed by them concerning the exacerbation of the situation which the halting of manufacturing at the Wabco-Westinghouse factory would inevitably bring about. Wabco-Westinghouse (Ireland) Limited, which manufactures railroad signalling equipment, is a subsidiary of a large US multinational company which, I understand is one of the major manufacturers world wide of this very specialised type of equipment. Consequently, when the IDA agreed in 1980 to support the establishment of this manufacturing project in Tralee they were influenced largely by the promoting company's projections regarding the development of substantial exports by the Irish operation to both the European and Third World markets.

Unfortunately, however, the company's achievements in the development of the Irish operations overseas markets never reached anything approaching the level projected and it was this failure to meet export targets that has proved, in essence, to be the critical factor in the company's present difficulties. Efforts have been made by the relevant State industrial promotional agencies, the Industrial Development Authority and Córas Tráchtála, in an endeavour to assist the company in developing their export market base. Regrettably, these efforts have not proved as successful as had been hoped.

There has been considerable reference in the course of the debate to the level of orders from CIE and CIE's responsibility to provide continuing orders to the company. I must point out that the affairs of CIE are matters outside my area of ministerial responsibility. However, in so far as Wabco-Westinghouse is concerned, the position is that while this company, at the time of establishment, secured the contract to supply CIE's signalling needs in connection with the Howth-Bray electrification scheme, the intention was that this contract would simply provide the foundation or base on which the projected export business would be built. The signalling needs in relation to the Howth-Bray electrification scheme have now been met. This means that future CIE orders must be confined to the company's needs in relation to mainline signalling. In this regard CIE have been modernising and upgrading their mainline signalling on a phased basis in the context of their annual capital programme and priorities. The board of CIE have included a number of signalling projects in their programme for 1984. As the House is aware, the Government have been considering the 1984 Estimates for the public sector for a number of weeks now and the 1984 capital allocation for CIE will be settled in that context. Consequently, until CIE's estimate has been determined and notified to their board, it will not be possible for them to decide on their investment in signalling for next year. In this context I might point out to the House that the allocation of CIE's finances to any part of their capital programme must be related primarily to the overall requirements of that programme rather than the needs of any supplier or contractor.

I referred earlier to the concern I share regarding the employment situation in County Kerry and in Tralee in particular. In this regard I might point out that the Industrial Development Authority — in recognition of the needs of the area — have concentrated their resources in County Kerry in developing a sound infrastructure for industry and the provision of advance factories and sites for industrial development.

There is always considerable reference to projects such as Wabco-Westinghouse which are experiencing difficulties. I might point out that the availability of the resources referred to have proved a great advantage in attracting substantial investment to the county. To supplement the resources already available the IDA have commenced construction recently of five incubator units in Tralee for small industry projects. A 28,000 sq. ft. factory is also under construction in the town. Both of those facilities will be available early next year.

Also in response to the particular needs of county Kerry the IDA have opened an office in Tralee, a unique development representing as it does the first time that the IDA have opened a special office other than a regional one to service an area. The Tralee office forms part of the IDA's south-west regional structure which has its headquarters based in Cork. A primary function of this newly established Tralee office will be to liaise closely with the regional office in Cork. This will ensure, wherever possible, that overseas companies seeking to locate in the region will be brought to visit appropriate sites in County Kerry. This development will prove of very considerable long-term benefit to County Kerry.

In the years 1980-82 over £6.5 million has been invested by the IDA in lands and factories in County Kerry. Since 1980 some 200 projects involving a projected investment of over £24 million — of which the IDA are committed to subscribing over £15 million — have been approved for the county.

The activities I have outlined are a measure of the IDA's commitment to the development of County Kerry. I should like to assure the House that every effort will continue to be made in the future to ensure that as many jobs as possible will be provided in County Kerry in general and in the Tralee area in particular.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 30 November 1983.