The announcement on Monday last, 24 May 1993, of the closure of Wexmann Trousers involving 109 redundancies sent shock waves through Wexford town. The company was originally established in 1966 and was the first of many German companies to locate in Wexford. Wexmann was a great ambassador in attracting other foreign industries to the area. Only two years ago the company underlined its commitment to Wexford and its ability to ride out the recession by extending its plant by 50 per cent and by investing £250,000 in new modern machinery.
Unfortunately, competition particularly on the cut, make and trim price for contract trousers from the Baltic states, Poland and Tunisia, together with the inept handling by the last Government of the currency crisis, interest rates and a subsequent devaluation has not allowed that to happen. The final straw was the 5 per cent increase in VAT on the manufacturing industry in this year's budget and that put the nail in the coffin of an excellent product in Wexford town.
The CMT price at Wexmann was 16.3 pence per minute in terms of the production cost. In Tunisia and the Baltic states the CMT price is as low as 5 pence per minute. Competition was extremely difficult, particularly with the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
This company, established in 1966, did not have one day's stoppage for industrial action. Can we say the same of many other companies? Excellent management and co-operation with the workforce ensured a quality product and a highly skilled workforce during those years. I would ask the Minister to put on the record of the House what he intends to do to ensure that we salvage the jobs of the 109 people involved, preferably by having it taken over as a going concern or, perhaps, a fall back position of an alternative manufacturing industry, if not a trouser industry. We would even consider the possibility and the economics of a management buy-out.
I would like to hear from the Minister that the Government cares about the dilemma of the unemployment crisis in Wexford town. I would like to see some evidence of outrage about the unemployment level there. In Wexford town and district there are 3,465 people unemployed, 25 per cent of the workforce. That is well above the national average which is bad enough. The real tragedy is that there is no outrage about this problem. People in Wexford believed for years that when they got a Cabinet Minister their problems would be solved.
I thank the Minister for coming into the House to reply to this debate. I ask him, and his colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Howlin, to ensure that no stone is left unturned to resolve the dilemma of the 109 workers faced with redundancy on 16 July at Wexmann Trousers Limited. Above all, everybody living in Wexford, those on the dole queues and the workforce, want some evidence that the Government actually cares about the unemployment crisis and the scarcity of jobs for people in Wexford town and district. There has been no evidence of that to date.
When the Labour Party was in Opposition there was much talk about such difficulties, but from the minute that party got into bed with Fianna Fáil and got the big cars there has been no word of concern for those on the growing dole queues. Wexford can take it no longer. The shock of the loss of a quality industry such as Wexmann has been the final straw. The Minister should give details of how the IDA, through pressure from him, will find an alternative enterprise, preferably a going concern for Wexmann Trousers.
