Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 11 Dec 1997

Vol. 485 No. 1

Seagate Technology Closure: Statements.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Miss Harney)

I thank the House for giving me time to return from Clonmel for this debate. On my behalf and on behalf of the Government, I extend sympathy to the workers of Seagate, to their families and to the people of Clonmel and the surrounding area. The news that Seagate will close its entire operation in Clonmel from the second week in February is devastating for those workers, their families and for the people of Clonmel. A total of 95 per cent of the workforce live within a ten mile radius of the town. Seagate is worth £20 million per annum to the local economy.

Most Members are aware of the background to Seagate's location here. In June l995 the former Government approved grant aid to the tune of £17 million for the company. It involved investment of £21 million in fixed assets and, combined with working capital, the total amounted to £82 million. The company was to create 1,400 jobs by the year 2000. Everybody was delighted when the news reached Clonmel because it was a replacement industry for Digital.

Seagate quickly began its operation in Clonmel and exceeded its employment targets ahead of time. It currently employs approximately 1,100 full time and 300 temporary employees, more than 1,400 in all. It is a major employer for a town such as Clonmel. Shortly after Seagate began its development in Clonmel it acquired a new company called Conner Peripherals which also makes disk drives. Seagate told me that from then onwards there was overcapacity, but it continued to ramp up its operation at Clonmel, which sounds incredible.

In August last, with representatives of the IDA, I went on an industrial promotion trip to the United States. It is customary on such trips for a new Minister to visit some of the client companies currently operating in the Republic. I visited Seagate to discuss its operation at Clonmel and its plans for Cork. As Members know, in June last the outgoing Government approved proposals for Seagate to build a facility at Ringaskiddy in Cork. This would involve investment of £148 million and the employment of 1,000 people by l999. The Cork project would be hi-tech and capital intensive. It would make disks rather than disk drives, which are made at the Clonmel plant. Disk drives are at the lower end of the market and are a commodity product within the peripheral area, whereas the Cork plant would be a much more expensive and capital intensive project.

In early October Seagate informed us that because of changes in the market it wanted to postpone the Cork project for six months, until April l998. It assured me it was a mere postponement and I know from the IDA that is not unusual. Other companies currently operating in our economy have postponed major investments. It makes sense to bring such an investment on stream close to when one needs the products for the market. Seagate claimed that because of changes in the marketplace it did not need the products as soon as it thought and that the project would have to be postponed until April l998. I accepted their assurances on that matter. Shortly afterwards, they informed the IDA that as part of their worldwide review of operations, given the changing market conditions, they were also reviewing and re-evaluating their Clonmel operation. I heard of that on Friday, 3 October, and immediately sought to contact the senior vice-president in charge of the Irish operation, Bill Watkins. I had some difficulty in contacting him because he was travelling throughout the Far East.

Mr. Broughan

Why did the Tánaiste not tell us?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Tánaiste without interruption, please.

Miss Harney

I contacted him by telephone on Friday, 3 October and asked him to agree to meet senior executives from the IDA, which he did on Monday, 6 October. Over the weekend, Martin Cronin who is joint number two in the IDA, with other colleagues, went to meet Seagate executives to discuss the re-evaluation of the Clonmel project. They were assured that what was under way at Clonmel and elsewhere was a re-evaluation. They were told there was a stagnant market and that Seagate's share of the market was declining. They were also told there was an overcapacity of hard disks because of the acquisition of Conner Peripherals and that fewer were needed because hard disks are becoming more powerful.

They said that for all those reasons they had to review their operation. The IDA assured them that they wanted to remain in touch with the review and when they informed me of what was happening I sought a meeting with the company's senior executives. I travelled to the United States at the earliest possible moment they could meet me because they were travelling around the world to their various operations. I travelled on the bank holiday weekend, 26 October, and on 27 October I met Mr. Watkins and Mr. Glen Peterson, who were carrying out the review, at their headquarters in California.

They told me that two options were being considered for Clonmel. The first option was to upgrade the facility and invest more money in it to produce a higher grade product. That would maintain all the existing jobs. Clearly, I urged them to do that and I told them that if they did, grant assistance would be available from the Government through the IDA. They said the second option was to downgrade — or retrench, as they called it — the Clonmel facility reducing it to perhaps 750 jobs by introducing automation and, therefore, making it more productive. They told me costs in Clonmel were three times higher than those in the Far East. They also said that if they were making the decision now they would never have put a hard disk drive facility in the Republic of Ireland because, given that they are labour intensive, hard disks can be produced much more cheaply in Asian countries.

I emphasised to them the significance of upgrading the facility for a number of reasons. I told them that it was a major employer in Clonmel. They told me that their experience in Ireland had been a good and positive one. They had a good workforce and were happy in Ireland. They said the evaluation would be ongoing. They wanted us to keep in touch with that evaluation and we did.

On 5 and 6 November they travelled to Ireland. They told me they wanted to discuss their plans with the management in Clonmel. While they were here we arranged that they would also meet the IDA. On 6 November Mr. Peterson told the IDA that as a result of his evaluation, he would be recommending to the board that they retrench Clonmel to about 750 jobs and introduce automation. He said that recommendation would go to the board on 8 December and they would inform us of the board's decision after that date.

Mr. Broughan

Why did the Tánaiste not tell the workers?

Miss Harney

On many occasions my predecessors and I were involved with companies in difficulties and restructuring? Former Ministers, Deputy Richard Bruton and Deputy Quinn, were involved with many of them. It would be wrong to breach confidentiality and tell the Deputy which companies were concerned. However, any Minister dealing with client companies on behalf of the Government must deal with them, firstly, on a confidential basis. Secondly, it would be wrong of me to downgrade the company in any way. This was a company in difficulty and I was not going to make their problems worse by making announcements to workers.

Mr. Broughan

What about the problems of the workers and their families?

Miss Harney

Please listen, Deputy Broughan. Of course, the workers are my first concern. I felt it was the duty of the company to tell the workers. I was dealing on a confidential basis with the company. When I heard on Tuesday that they were coming to Ireland to tell us of the outcome of their board decision it immediately rang alarm bells because I felt that if the decision was a good one they would not travel over to tell us so, they would tell us by telephone.

They met the IDA early yesterday morning and told them the bad news. They then came to meet me. To say we were shocked is probably an understatement because closure was never on the agenda, nor were we ever informed that it was. We had a difficult meeting with the company yesterday and it is hard to understand their decision. When I learned of the decision yesterday, my priority was to meet the workers and the people in Clonmel, given the enormity of what was happening there. That is why I travelled to Clonmel yesterday evening. The company said it would start telling the workers from 6.30 p.m. on and clearly they did not want any statements to be made before that. I regret that so many of the workers heard it on the airwaves. One of the things that most upset workers at Packard Electric was the way they heard the bad news. I did not want that to happen in the case of these workers. It is unfortunate that, because of the way it was arranged they should be told, some of them heard it on the news. Yesterday evening we had the appalling vista of husbands and wives coming to the factory to tell their spouses of their fate, having just heard about it on the RTÉ news.

The Government's priority now is to find a replacement industry for the Clonmel facility. It is a modern, state of the art building and has a dynamic young workforce of 1,400 people. When I met them this morning the thing that impressed me most was the fact that they were focused on the future. They want jobs in Clonmel and my priority is to ensure that they get employment there. Because it is a state of the art facility and we have a readily available workforce, and because we have a number of projects in the pipeline for next year as well as a number of companies currently looking at various sites around the country, I hope we will be able to succeed soon in finding a replacement industry.

The priority for the IDA will be to bring companies that are interested in locating in Ireland to see the Clonmel facility. We are establishing a task force to be chaired by the county manager.

I am sorry I am not in a position to announce the membership of the task force. Two persons whom I would like to have on the task force are currently travelling abroad on business. I am keen that they would participate but I wish to speak to them personally before I announce their names as they may not be willing to participate. I hope to be in a position later this evening or tomorrow morning to announce the membership of the task force. The duty of the task force will be to look after the needs of the workers, to do very much what was done in relation to Packard Electric in Tallaght, to find a replacement industry and to work with the development agencies.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I ask the Tánaiste to draw her remarks to a conclusion.

Mrs. Owen

I hope the Tánaiste is not eating into our time.

Miss Harney

I am not eating into it. I will take questions and there is no problem with that.

Mrs. Owen

We have only a short time slot and we will have less of it if the Tánaiste continues.

Miss Harney

I will finish now because I am happy to take questions. I hope we will have a calm debate and that we will not play politics with this issue. The lives and future of those workers and their families must be foremost in all our minds.

Mrs. Owen

I wish to share my time with Deputy Coveney.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mrs. Owen

The announcement by Seagate Technology that it is closing its plant with the loss of 1,400 jobs is a catastrophe, not only for the people who are losing their jobs but also for their extended families who are dependent on them. It is not only a catastrophe for Clonmel but also for neighbouring towns such as Tipperary, Cashel, Carrick-on-Suir and Cahir as well as parts of Waterford, Kilkenny and north Cork. For each job lost there are probably a minimum of three dependants, so the devastation felt by so many is hard to calculate. It is particularly poignant that this announcement should have come out of the blue only two weeks before Christmas. Many of those working in Seagate lost their jobs when Digital closed in 1992. Many people got jobs in Seagate after long periods of unemployment, while others left jobs to join the company.

The bombshell announcement is difficult to understand. How can a company the size of Seagate, with an investment the size of that in Clonmel, expect its employees to accept that such a decision can be made overnight? This is what the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, wishes us to believe. I do not believe that a company of this scale can make such a decision in a matter of a few days.

It is quite clear from what we now know that the position of the Clonmel plant had been under review for three months. We know this from the Minister herself and from the head of the IDA. The Tánaiste will have to explain why she is expressing such shock and surprise at this announcement when she clearly had known for three months that Seagate was considering its position in Clonmel.

It is extraordinary that as recently as Tuesday, 24 hours before this announcement, staff had been informed that a new clean room facility was being installed to upgrade facilities. It is also extraordinary that 24 hours before this announcement, staff were being informed about details of a wage increase which they would get over the next two years. This kind of business practice is to be condemned. I am critical of senior management in Seagate who kept their staff in the dark and lulled them into a false sense of security by speaking about plans two years hence. This morning I heard of one man who only yesterday at 3 p.m., approximately three hours before staff were informed of the closure, signed mortgage papers for his new home. I heard too of people who were on their day off and got telephone calls from other members of their families who heard the announcement on the radio, and of a young couple, both of whom work for the company, who have no prospect of paying their mortgage. This is not the way to treat staff who have given their all for the company.

I turn to the role of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, in this horrific saga. No Minister can be held responsible for the impact on trading of changes in the economy of other parts of the world but the responsibility rests with the Minister to keep herself informed as to the impact of the Asian economy on jobs in Ireland. She has been particularly complimentary to Asian economies and work practices and has quoted their success, the low cost of labour and the long hours that Asian people are prepared to put into their work. Since the Minister has declared herself to be such an expert on these economies, why was she not conscious of the effect of a downturn in them on any projects providing vital jobs here? Why does she now tell us she knew about the difficulties in the Clonmel plant for three months and took no steps to prevent its closure, or to at least prepare the people working in this company for some rationalisation of the plant, which was being discussed by senior management?

In early October, the Minister met a deputation from south Tipperary consisting of Oireachtas Members, the chairman of the county council, the manager of South Tipperary County Council, the county development officer and the IDA to discuss the lack of jobs in Tipperary town. Seagate was referred to in a very positive manner in terms of the excellence and number of jobs created in south Tipperary. No hint or word of caution was given by the Minister that day despite the fact that information was becoming available that Seagate was considering options for the Clonmel plant.

On the 6 November 1997 in columns 923-5 of the Official Report under questioning by Opposition Deputies, including myself, the Minister assured the House that the Seagate project for Cork was only postponed and not cancelled. She stated:

the company's representatives have assured me this is a merely a postponement and all I can do is accept their word, which I am happy to do. Our experience with this company in the past has been a good one and its Cork project is very much part of their plans for the future.

At the time she was fully aware the company was considering downsizing the plant in Clonmel by 750 jobs, or finding a way to cut down on overhead costs which would have led to loss of jobs. How could the Minister have been so badly informed and so unaware of the realities of business that, on the one hand, she was discussing with the company the downsizing of its Clonmel plant and, on the other, accepting its assurance that there was no threat to the Cork project?

It defies belief that the Minister could have been so naive to accept these assurances and pass them on to Members without giving some warning of the nature of her discussions with Seagate about Clonmel. The Minister misled the House and the high powered deputation from south Tipperary. On 4 December 1997 in the Seanad Senator Tom Hayes raised the issue of employment in Tipperary yet again and my colleague, Deputy Theresa Ahearn, expressed outrage at how this closure could have been allowed to happen. In the Minister's reply to Senator Hayes, she talked positively about initiatives that were ongoing in Tipperary and did not refer to any concern she might have about Seagate and its future. The statement was made 24 hours ahead of the decision in the US to close down the Clonmel plant.

I find it extraordinary and incredible that this Minister who, when in Opposition, expected every Minister to be on top of his brief, totally informed of and accountable for what was going on in his Department, can now distance herself. She must be measured against the standards she expected of others.

The workers of Seagate are entitled to know why this decision has come like a bolt from the blue and why the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment was not on top of her brief and making plans to cope with a decision that might be taken by Seagate to close the plant. We have experience of other plants closing with job losses but there are ways in which such closures can be carried out on a phased basis to allow the IDA and other agencies the opportunity to look for alternative jobs and also to give the workers the opportunity to come to terms with the job losses. This did not happen in this case and the Minister is culpable.

She must take responsibility for allowing people to raise loans to buy houses or cars, to invest in their children's education, to spend money for Christmas knowing there would not be salaries to meet those expenditures.

Mr. Treacy

Who wrote that?

Mrs. Owen

I reiterate my sympathy for the workers in Seagate who will lose their jobs and I ask the Minister to extend the remit of the task force to other towns, such as Carrick-on-Suir where 300 jobs have been lost.

Mr. Coveney

Because of the time constraint I do not want to dwell on Clonmel other than to express my solidarity with and concern for the people who have experienced this disaster in the past 24 hours. Seagate Technology is a world leader in its field with a major slice of the disk drive market. It is a major company with a preeminent position and it defies belief that a company of that stature should in the space of six months have made a complete U-turn on its investments in Ireland. While I will not indulge in multinational bashing, this company has a case to answer. The IDA's assessment capabilities must be questioned because if, as the Minister stated, the company said it made a mistake in selecting Clonmel and Ireland, why was the IDA's assessment unit not more aware of such problems?

Worldwide over capacity did not happen in a matter of days, weeks or months. Market stagnation is a matter of a company making a wrong judgment while lower prices for products arising out of that is the normal marketplace at work. However, I accept the situation in the Far East was probably unexpected. I am a great supporter of the IDA, but it has a case to answer as does the Minister because she is ultimately responsible.

I refer to the Cork plant about which the Minister has said nothing final unlike the one in Clonmel. The Cork plant is not subject to the same rigours in pricing because it operates in a high investment and hi-tech industry and if Ireland cannot compete in it, then we must accept that. We should not write off that plant but a great deal of comment today indicates that it is a virtual write off.

Will the Minister do everything possible to save it while at the same time giving priority to Clonmel? I do not agree with the notion that the Cork plant is gone because Clonmel is failing since the products, technology and competition involved are different.

Mr. Broughan

As Labour Party spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment I express my strongest sympathy for the people of Clonmel and surrounding districts following last night's callous announcement. The plight of 1,400 workers and their families at the loss of their jobs just a few days from Christmas is heart rending. I call on the Minister and the Government to do everything in their power to help the Clonmel community which has been devastated by a multinational closure for the second time in just over two years. I applaud the Minister's announcement of the setting up of a jobs task force for the region and I urge her and the IDA management team to produce a replacement industry at the earliest possible opportunity in 1998. The Seagate Technology debacle raises the most serious questions about the judgment of the IDA and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Seagate company first came to my attention around 1991 when a major project for Clonshaugh in my constituency was abandoned in favour of the development in Derry which, hopefully, will continue to flourish. Given the increasingly competitive nature of disk drive assembly, the original decision of the IDA to pour £16 million into the Seagate project at Clonmel from mid-1995 must be closely re-examined. Was the IDA aware of all the developments in Seagate Technology's core business and world network of plants when the final decision to support this project was made in 1995? Without the massive Irish Government support were the economics of disk drive assemblies from the mid-1990s correct? Everybody is grateful for two and a half years of employment but the hopes of the Clonmel workers and their families which were understandably raised were cruelly dashed last night. Will the Minister, Deputy Harney, order a review of procedures for attracting large transnational assembly type electronic and computer industries to Ireland?

I believe the Minister misled the Dáil in a cavalier way on 15 October and again on 6 November 1997. On 15 October, in a written question — Official Report, vol. 481, col. 1048 — I asked about her contacts with Seagate following the loss of 1,000 promised jobs in Ringaskiddy and her plans for a replacement industry in Cork. She informed me of her trip to California in late August and of her detailed conversation with the executive vice-president of Seagate on Friday, 3 October. She reported to the Dáil that the Cork Seagate project was postponed to review changes in the market for the company's product and that it would not be appropriate to seek a replacement industry for the area. The Minister knew on 15 October that Seagate was carrying out a worldwide review of all its operations, including Clonmel. She knew Bill Watkins and his team were examining Clonmel's future but did not warn us, the elected Members. I am not sure if she even warned the Government and she did not warn the workers and the people of Clonmel as I believe she was legally obliged to do, a point I will return to later.

On 6 November, Deputy Derek McDowell in an oral question on my behalf — Official Report, vol.482, col. 923 — asked the Minister about the so-called postponement of the Ringaskiddy project. I asked for the start-up date for Cork and the Minister said: " .all I can do is accept their word [that is Seagate's word] which I am happy to do" that there was to be a six month postponement. The Minister accepted its word but knew from her visit to California on 27 October that Clonmel was being seriously reviewed. She has admitted today that the slashing of the workforce from 1,400 to 750 workers was a serious option. The Minister knew on 6 November, at the latest, that we were talking about a possible 750 redundancies or more — Glen Patterson had told her this, through the IDA, on 5 or 6 November. The Minister knew this, yet did not inform the workers and the people of Clonmel. She let them proceed in happy expectations of a five year review and the other developments, to which my colleague, Deputy Owen, referred, and knew this disastrous Christmas box was not only possible but likely for at least half of those workers. The Minister misled the people of Clonmel and the Dáil.

This is the second disastrous error the Minister has made in the conduct of her ministry in just five months. She made an incredible mess of the Guinness take-over of United Beverages Holdings, for which she took responsibility in this House on 6 November. It was surely a resigning matter. She is now presiding over the Clonmel Seagate debacle in which she cruelly misled the House and the workers of Clonmel.

The awful events in Clonmel highlight once again the predicament of workers who are forbidden trade union representation. In Clonmel they were forbidden such representation, as a letter to Tom Walsh of SIPTU in June 1991 makes clear. R.A. Kundtz, Seagate vice-president, said on 27 May 1991 that Seagate saw no requirement for entering into employment agreements, yet without trade union recognition who is to negotiate the redundancy terms on behalf of the workers? Workers with less than two years' service do not have a legal entitlement to redundancy. Had there been a recognised trade union or group of unions in Seagate Clonmel there could have been much earlier consultation with the workforce on more humane dealings with workers facing such a closure and more knowledge of all the facts at a much earlier stage, as happened recently at Semperit in Ballyfermot.

I realise the Minister has appointed a high level group to consider such legislation on trade union recognition but the collapse of Seagate and the brutal treatment of the workforce reiterates the urgency of action on trade union recognition. Our trade union colleagues have warned us that of all the issues which seriously threaten the future of Partnership 2000, and any possible successors, the most serious problem for them is how they are treated in relation to recognition.

Even without trade union recognition the Minister and her Department are legally responsible for the failure to warn the workers of Seagate. I have demonstrated that the Minister, Deputy Harney, was aware of the so-called Clonmel review from early October at the latest. Article 2.1 of the EU Directive on Collective Redundancy as cited in Catherine Barnard's standard work on EU employment law states: "Where an employer is contemplating collective redundancies he shall begin consultations in good time with a view to reaching an agreement". This directive was passed in 1975 when one of the Minister's predecessors, Dr. Paddy Hillery, was commissioner.

In attempting to reach such an agreement, the employer and genuine employee representatives must include redundancy avoidance and social measures aimed at aid for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant.

Two years ago the EU Court of Justice ruled in EU v. UK Government that where collective redundancies are desired by the employer, in the absence of a trade union, there is a legal obligation on the member state Government to put in place a mechanism for consultation. The Minister's failure to do this has had the most dire consequences for the Seagate workforce and their families. She is responsible for the cruel and inhumane way in which this terrible news was announced to workers yesterday and the failure to forewarn and protect them. There was some indication from the Minister and her officials this morning that my colleague, Deputy Ferris — who is out of the House for the time being — had been responsible for breaking the news. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was the Minister who had the responsibility to ensure that as early as possible the workforce had the opportunity to plan their future. The Minister cannot hide behind the executives of Seagate Technology. They can take care of themselves. They are a powerful multinational trans-national company based in California. They are looking after their own interests and go to areas where money is cheapest and workers are prepared to work in dire conditions. The Minister failed in one of her most vital tasks as a Government Minister. This is her second failure in a short time.

I commend my colleague, Deputy Ferris, on the efforts he is making today to organise a meeting of the workforce and all the interested parties to give them the information he has gleaned from the IDA and some people in the Minister's Department to put before them at last the full facts of their predicament.

Deputies on my left will remember the days when we wrestled with the problem in Packard Electric in Tallaght. At that time the Minister — who stood where I am standing — the former Deputy Michael McDowell and others took the most stringent view of what they saw as Government failure.

Miss Harney

Wrong, wrong. Read the record.

Mr. Broughan

Following the collapse of Packard Electric the Minister's predecessors — Deputy Rabbitte and Deputy Eithne Fitzgerald — established a unit in the Department to look specifically at ways in which employers and workers could develop forms of sharing in partnership. What has the Minister done about that in the past five months? Why was there not such a unit to warn the House, the Minister's colleagues and the families of Clonmel? This is an issue on which the Minister has failed dismally.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I understand the Government is conceding its slot to Deputy Rabbitte.

Mr. Rabbitte

I wish to allow a few minutes of my time to Deputy Lowry.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mr. Rabbitte

Like previous colleagues I extend my sympathy to and express my solidarity with the workers at Clonmel and their families who have been dealt a devastating blow. This is the biggest industrial crisis the country has experienced since the closure of Ferenka. At one time the workforce in Digital and Packard exceeded 1,400 in each case but had been wound down before closure. This is a major blow not alone to Clonmel but to the surrounding region. The focus should be on the people immediately affected who have mortgages to discharge and children at school and who, in the most unexpected and blunt way, have learned they are to be disemployed.

This issue gives rise to the necessity to take a serious look at and conduct an evaluation of the track record of the international corporation in question. I agree with Deputy Coveney on the role of transnational corporations generally. The decision of the IDA to focus on the hi-tech sector, which employs more than 33,000 people, was correct and one from which the economy and society benefits but it is especially unusual that a company would have grown quickly and pulled out rapidly. Having regard to the decision in 1990 not to proceed with the opening of a plant in Clonshaugh which would have resulted in the creation of 1,300 jobs — and the decision two years later, having examined a different location in Dublin, to locate in Derry — there is a necessity for the Minister to be satisfied that the IDA in its evaluation is sufficiently rigorous in terms of the track record of the company in question. It is odd that within six months of locating in Clonmel it acquired Conner Peripherals, a company that was also producing disk drives.

The Minister cannot win in a case like this. If she was negligent, she should be called to account but if not, we are probably wasting our time pretending a Minister can prevent a multinational corporation from deciding that it is in its strategic interest to make a decision such as this. It comes shortly after an indigenous company decided to disemploy 750 workers here and 550 in Britain. I hope one swallow does not make a summer and we cannot draw general conclusions from this.

I am conscious that on a previous occasion, when the vice-president of General Motors came here to advise of the closure of Packard Electric, mischief was made for me in the House — I exclude the Minister from this — which did not help in circumstances remarkably similar to these where the workers concerned learned of the closure on the radio. That is an especially lamentable aspect of the decision-making of large companies. Because meetings were taking place, the vice-president of General Motors asked me not to make an announcement for 24 hours but the matter was mentioned in the news media later that night. The information, most emphatically, did not come from the Department or my side of the House. We were immediately wrongfooted and it made the experience extremely difficult. In this instance, it is unforgivable that many hundreds of workers and their families learned of the closure over the airwaves.

The focus should be on what can be done in these circumstances. It would be fatuous to suggest it is possible to persuade a company of this dimension to change its mind. Assuming everything that reasonably might have been done was done before the decision to close was made, in my experience when a company such as this makes a decision it is irretrievable.

The Minister has available to her the experience of Digital in Galway and Packard in her constituency. The task force established by Deputy Quinn in Galway and by me in Tallaght were spectacularly successful. Digital has as many people employed in Galway as it had at its peak. The supports put in place for disemployed workers in Tallaght were a tremendous success. In recent weeks the Minister was able to bring to a conclusion work that was well advanced when I left the Department in terms of finding a replacement industry for the Packard premises. Despite the scepticism and cynicism with which the announcement of competent task forces was greeted, they produced tangible results which are there for all to see.

Workers in Clonmel hope they will continue to be employed in Clonmel and that everything reasonable that can be done will be done to ensure this. There is no point in causing a task force to be established unless resources are provided to underpin its recommendations.

Mr. Lowry

I thank Deputy Rabbitte for sharing his time. For the people of Tipperary, 10 December 1997 was a sad and black day. I thank the Minister for visiting Clonmel, for communicating in a sympathetic and understanding way with the workforce and for assuring them of the solidarity of the Government and every Member of the Oireachtas in their plight.

The Seagate decision was communicated and announced in a cruel, inhuman and unacceptable way. It is a shattering blow to the workforce and their dependent families who are angry and demoralised. The county is struggling to come to terms with the enormity of what has happened. It is gripped by a sense of gloom and despair. The severity and suddenness of the decision will have serious consequences for the economies of Clonmel and Tipperary. The timing and manner of the announcement is an appalling reflection on the company, the State agency involved and the Government. No amount of preparatory explanations will lessen the psychological blow to the workforce. It was callous to allow a situation to develop where the workers learned of their fate through the media. This shoddy management of such a serious crisis must be closely examined to ensure there is no repetition in any other part of the country.

It seems incredible the IDA was so out of touch that, by its own admission, the decision took it by surprise. It is obvious it underestimated the company's intentions. With an investment of £12 million in the company, the liaison between the IDA and the company should have been such that the company's policy and motivation should have been known to it in advance to allow intensive lobbying to save all or, at least, part of the plant. I urge the Minister to commence an immediate investigation into the motivation and reasons for this decision. The explanation given by the company is unbelievable. How could market decisions, over-capacity and labour costs deteriorate so quickly to merit closure? How could a company get its research, planning, projections and judgment so utterly wrong? How could it move from an expansion and development plan in June last to closure in December with a loss of 1,400 jobs? There is something radically wrong, something rotten and incomprehensible about this Seagate decision. I welcome the establishment of the task force because it is crucial that this debacle be approached in a positive, constructive manner. There remains in Clonmel an attractive, state of the art plant and a multiskilled, dedicated and committed workforce. The task force should examine the human dimensions of this tragedy.

Mr. Sargent

I thank the Fine Gael Party for sharing its time with me. The loss of 1,400 jobs in Clonmel, or anywhere, sends shivers down many people's spines. Let us hope the workers of Seaate will not be jobless for long, which I hope will be the message to go out from here.

I represent Dublin North, a constituency which is heavily dependent on, and very grateful for, investment by trans-national companies like Motorola, Amdahl and IBM, all of which play a central role in the lives of my constituents. The sympathy of those working in such companies will be all the greater for those losing their jobs in Clonmel, particularly following on the loss of 350 jobs in 1991 with the closure of Digital.

We must now assess what action remains to be taken by the Government, analyse what has occurred and also what remains to be done by all those in positions of power in State agencies. The first priority must be to support the workers of Clonmel who will obviously be anxious to find a replacement for Seagate, in addition to more general training of and help for those involved in enterprise generally, rather than specifically in the case of Clonmel. Although I shall have some questions about the task force, its establishment is welcome.

There are wider lessons to be learned from this experience. For example, I do not think sufficient numbers of people are really aware of the risks involved and the need to take precautions whenever we become dependent on trans-national corporations. It is a fact of life that such large companies are sensitive to competitive advantages in other areas. There are lessons for us to learn. We must be careful that rural communities, do not become reliant on one company. This is something which must be avoided in spite of initial euphoria when a major project is mooted.

Adaptability is critical for the survival of our young people and the Department of Education and Science appears to have taken account of that necessity. It would appear the Japanese are beginning to feel the pinch at the lack of flexibility in their market and other countries in the Far East are beginning to make similar sounds.

Ireland needs to continue to trumpet the advantages and bonuses that attract large corporations to invest and locate here. We must ensure they can be guaranteed a clean environment, an important factor in the case of many trans-national corporations. The fact that we speak English better than anybody else in the world, according to George Bernard Shaw, are well educated and motivated, and our proximity to the European mainland, must also be trumpeted.

All of those attractions should not detract from the political lessons to be learned from this tragedy. I hope the Minister will be able to withstand the increasing pressure from other European Union member states who oppose our tax advantages for trans-national corporations. Can she tell us more about the task force she has announced? What resources will be made available to it? What will be its full remit?

Mrs. Owen

Given that there does not appear to be a scintilla of hope that the Seagate plant in Clonmel can be saved, can the Minister inform the House when the £12 million in IDA grants will be repaid? Will she give the House a commitment that that money will be made available to the task force she has established for investment in a number of projects because we are unlikely to find a single alternative project which would provide 1,400 jobs? What arrangements are in place for redundancy payments to the staff, given that they have only two years experience and what is the status of the 300 temporary workers at the plant who are under the impression today they will receive no payment whatsoever?

Miss Harney

In relation to the repayment of the employment grant of £11.3 million, there is legal agreement between the parent company and the IDA to have it repaid in full, which is the subject of immediate negotiation.

Mrs. Owen

Within what timescale?

Miss Harney

A number of matters are the subject of negotiation at present.

In relation to making the money available, I told the workers today that we will make as much money as possible available to obtain an alternative investment and, as Deputy Rabbitte suggested, will also fund any recommendations of that task force. Clearly we must make funds available for that purpose.

On the matter of temporary workers, at present the company does not intend giving them severance payments out of the severance package amounting to approximately £6.5 million. I have asked the company to make arrangements to give its temporary workers some severance payments and contribute to a job centre and employment fund to help both temporary and full-time workers. I hope they will respond positively to my request. They need to talk to some members of the board in the United States before being in a position to give me a commitment on those matters.

Mr. Coveney

I have three questions for the Minister in relation to the position in Cork. Can she inform the House whether she believes the £150 million high technology disk project for Ringaskiddy is likely to go ahead? Will she inform the House whether she and the IDA are continuing to promote and support that project, contrary to some media reports today? In the event of the Ringaskiddy project not going ahead — and I hope it will — will the Minister appoint a task force similar to those in the case of Clonmel, Tallaght and Galway to identify and procure an industry, or industries, to replace the 1,000-plus jobs which will be lost to the Cork region?

Miss Harney

We always believed the Cork project would go ahead. The company assured me yesterday that Cork is going ahead but I told them it would be difficult to recommend grant aid for a new facility in Cork following on this disaster. However, it would be irresponsible of me to close the door completely. Clearly, given our unprecedented experience in relation to Seagate, we would have to take its track record into account, not merely in relation to Clonmel but in relation to the years 1990 and 1991, to which Deputy Rabbitte referred. Given that track record, personally I would be very reluctant to recommend to Government that we proceed with the Cork project unless circumstances change very dramatically.

The Deputy asked whether the IDA was still pursuing the Cork project. I have discussed the matter with the IDA who have come to the same conclusion as I have. Because the company never made us aware that closure was on the cards — on the contrary, we were assured that the worst case scenario would involve the loss of 750 jobs, perhaps upgrading, reinvestment, retaining all of the jobs or even more — there is a credibility issue. They know that to be the position of the IDA.

On the matter of a task force for Cork, I will be delighted to give that consideration. Cork is a very attractive location for foreign investment. There are a number of projects in the pipeline for Cork next year and Ringaskiddy will be targeted by me and the IDA for one of them.

Mr. Broughan

In view of this overall debacle, does the Minister accept that workers have a right to know, at least in general terms, about the progress of their company? That is the first point. Second, given that the Minister knew there was a possibility of serious difficulties arising, having spoken to Bill Watkins, and with reference to a question raised by my colleague, Deputy Ferris, in the House in early October——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Broughan must ask a brief question.

Mr. Broughan

——why did she not set up the task force for south Tipperary three months ago, as he asked her to do? Third, does the Minister accept that under the 1975 EU collective redundancy directive, she had a legal obligation to put in place mechanisms to inform the workers of their rights? Will she agree that this terrible event shows once again that urgent action was needed? During the general election, the Taoiseach promised us that urgent action would be taken on trade union recognition and representation and association rights. In her reply the Minister told us what she has done, but will she now accept that she and the Taoiseach should keep the promise made in June and introduce legislation on trade union recognition? The workers would then have the benefit of——

An Leas-Cheann

Comhairle: Brief questions please, Deputy Broughan.

Mr. Broughan

——skilled union representatives, research departments and so on to assist them?

Miss Harney

First, in response to the Deputy's last question on trade union recognition, the working group to which I referred earlier will shortly produce a report on this issue and the Government will implement its recommendations. Second, I do not have the legal obligations Deputy Broughan suggests but I have moral obligations and that is the reason I travelled to Clonmel last night and met over 400 workers.

Mr. Broughan

The Minister clearly has a legal obligation under the 1975 directive.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Broughan, please desist. This is a very limited debate and I ask the Deputy to give other Members an opportunity to ask questions and elicit information.

Mr. Broughan

That is not our fault. We were ready to discuss this all day.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy is interrupting and delaying his colleagues in their attempts to ask questions.

Mr. Broughan

That is not our fault.

Miss Harney

I thank Deputy Rabbitte for acknowledging that when Packard closed I did not play politics inside or outside this House. When a replacement for Packard was found in my constituency I acknowledged Deputy Rabbitte's role in that, which he would acknowledge. I urge people on all sides not to play politics. We are all in this together. Ministers do not get multinationals in here and they do not close them down. Unfortunately, they are bigger than most of us. I have moral obligations to the workers and I will honour those obligations.

Mr. Stagg

The Minister has a legal responsibility also.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Please allow the Minister to conclude.

Mr. Stagg

We do not accept——

Mr. Davern

Deputy Stagg was not in Clonmel last night; the Minister was.

Mr. Stagg

She should have been in Clonmel long before that.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Please allow the Minister to respond.

Miss Harney

When I came to office I read some of the files in my Department on companies in trouble of which my predecessor, Deputy Bruton, was aware, one of which was Asahi. Deputy Bruton rightly did not set alarm bells ringing in regard to that company. He did not say it was in trouble and that it might close. The entire Government knew that company was in trouble. This was the first file put on my desk. I never criticised the outgoing Government because there are ways of doing business.

Mr. Broughan

Do the workers have a right to know?

Miss Harney

Yes, they do. Workers should be treated with respect by their employers.

Mr. Stagg

And does the Minister have an obligation?

Mr. Broughan

The Minister has a legal obligation under the 1975 directive.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Stagg and Deputy Broughan, allow the Minister to conclude her remarks and give your colleagues an opportunity to ask questions.

Miss Harney

Any obligations I have will be fully honoured. Workers have the right to be informed by their employers and to be treated with respect and dignity.

Mr. Stagg

If they are not, does the Minister have a responsibility to enforce that?

Mr. Davern

The Deputy should not play politics on the backs of Clonmel workers. That is all the Deputy is doing. He is playing politics.

Mr. D. Ahern

Deputies Stagg and Broughan are so transparent.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister of State should not interrupt. I requested Deputy Broughan and Deputy Stagg not to interrupt. They should give the Minister an opportunity to answer the questions and give their colleagues an opportunity to ask questions and elicit information.

Miss Harney

Employers should treat their workers with dignity and respect. I wish all the workers could have been told together and that so many of them did not have to hear about this on the airwaves. I wish this matter had been handled differently.

We have 150 electronic companies in the country employing 33,000 people. In the main, they are outstanding employers. Thankfully, this case is an exception.

Mr. Broughan

There were others.

Miss Harney

Yes, we have had bad cases in the past——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I ask the Minister not to answer questions that come by way of interruption.

Miss Harney

My priority and that of the Government is the workers and their future.

Mr. Stagg

It is a little late now.

Miss Harney

I met over 400 young people this morning who are enthusiastic to work. They told me they did not want anyone playing politics. They want me to look to the future and to get a replacement industry. They want somebody who will stay.

Mr. Stagg

That was not the story when the Minister was bad mouthing Deputy Ferris.

Miss Harney

I did not do that. That is incorrect.

Mr. Davern

That is a lie.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I ask the Minister of State to withdraw the word "lie".

Mr. Davern

I withdraw the word "lie". It is a gross insult.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Allow the Minister to conclude her remarks.

Miss Harney

In relation to Deputy Ferris, the story Deputy Stagg heard is completely off the wall. I do not know who gave him that tale.

Mr. Stagg

A very solid source out on the hustings.

Miss Harney

Is Deputy Stagg saying I am telling a lie? There were four other workers present — the chief executive of the IDA, the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, and several others, and I ask Deputy Stagg to ask them what I said about Deputy Ferris.

Mr. Stagg

It was a close relation of Deputy Ferris.

Mr. Broughan

What about Deputy Spring's suggestion?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Broughan, I will be left with no choice but to adjourn the House if you continue to interrupt.

Mr. Davern

This is not about the workers of Clonmel. It is about the Deputies' agenda.

Mr. Broughan

It is about them first.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy is monopolising the debate. He is asking supplementaries that are totally out of order and I ask him to be silent. I now call Deputy Rabbitte to ask a question.

Mr. Rabbitte

Does the Minister agree with the remark made in the House that the IDA was taken completely by surprise in this matter? Will she require the IDA to do an evaluation of the track record of this company to see what lessons can be learned from this experience? Will she tell the House again if, in her contacts with the company, it indicated that closure was contemplated at any stage in Clonmel? Also, having regard to the fact that no trade union advice is available to the workers concerned, will the Minister assist the task force in putting in place immediately some kind of unit or facility to advise the workers of their current entitlements and how they deal with the situation in which they now find themselves? Will she agree that is one of the practical things the workers confronting this situation urgently need?

Miss Harney

In response to Deputy Rabbitte's last question, that is already under way in relation to advising the workers, and it will happen immediately. I was asked by many people last night if the IDA, the last Government or somebody else got it wrong. Hindsight theory and 20:20 vision are always useful in politics. I do not believe people got it wrong. This was a blue chip company at the cutting edge of the industry, one of the world leaders. Everybody, including my predecessor, was delighted, when it came here. The company is evaluated in my Department and in the Department of Finance but this is one bad case. We have had 150 good cases and, thankfully, this is an exception.

In relation to the lessons that can be learned, I will not pretend to be an expert in electronics. I knew nothing about a computer until a few months ago but one learns quickly. This company is in what is called the peripherals area. It is a low value added, commodity product which is very labour intensive. If any lesson is to be learned it is that it is not viable to have many of those projects in Ireland. We must concentrate on high tech, high capital investments. An evaluation is taking place in which world experts are involved. The IDA uses leading world experts like Kinsey and many others in evaluating projects.

In regard to Deputy Rabbitte's question on closure, that was never on the cards. I have kept in touch with this company. Travelling back from Clonmel this morning, the chief executive of the IDA said we could both do a PhD on Seagate with all the contact we have had with the company. Two meetings were held in the United States and two here. I contacted Kieran McGowan every week asking for news. I rang him on Monday night to ask how the board meeting went and he told me we would probably hear about it the next morning. We then heard company representatives were coming to see us. We thought they might be coming to ask for more money to upgrade or, as I thought more likely, to give bad news. I was shocked yesterday morning when I heard the story after the Order of Business, as was the IDA. The company has lost $63 million in Ireland in two years — £45 million. Some people say this is a con job but it has been an expensive con job for the company. It will have to pay back £11.3 million and it has cost the company £6.5 million in severance payments. It has lost £45 million and there will be other costs associated with the closure. This has been an expensive experience for the company and, as its representatives said, they got it wrong.

Mrs. Owen

I understand there are probably only two other companies here making that type of hard disk product. I will not name them but the Minister will know of them. I want her to give an assurance they will not run into the same problems Seagate ran into, given that the company said those problems have arisen because of oversupply and over-capacity in this sector and price of work in the Asian markets. Can the Minister assure the House that the IDA and her Department are examining the companies in this business to ensure there will not be another bombshell, such as this, very soon?

Miss Harney

The answer to the Deputy's question is yes. Every year we have lost companies in the electronics industry. Notwithstanding that loss, employment in that industry has grown by between 3,000 to 5,000 each year over the last decade, even in the year Digital closed. There is a high risk in that industry and the market changes very rapidly. Representatives of one company recently came to see me and told me that over the next 12 to l5 months their company will change the entire product range it makes here and the process through which it is made. That reflects the pace of change in the electronics industry and companies must be able to respond to it.

There is a unit that evaluates the position on an ongoing basis. The IDA is a professional industrial development agency that looks after not only new business; it constantly manages and works with the existing client base to ensure there are no problems and where they exist it tries to iron them out. That work is continuing in respect of the companies Deputy Owen did not mention by name. I am satisfied that as of today the IDA is working to ensure the problems facing any of those companies can be resolved satisfactorily.

Mr. Sargent

Was the Minister first made aware of Seagate's vulnerability in July and, if so, what steps did she take on foot of that information? Why was there a reluctance to announce Seagate's proposals for Cork prior to the general election? Did real concerns exist at that time about the company? Will the Minister and Government agree that mobile investment of this nature, which can evaporate over night, would have serious but less dramatic consequences if a guaranteed basic income payment was put in place for all workers to enable them, at least, find other work with some assured income and dignity? Would that not be in line with the type of mobile investment of which the Minister talks, which requires flexibility and adaptability of workers and of general strategy?

Miss Harney

We did not know about this at the end of July. I met representatives of the company at the end of August. When a new Minister goes to the United States it is traditional for her to meet some of the existing client base and to be introduced to senior management. My meeting with the company was very upbeat. I was told how wonderful the operation was in Clonmel and what a wonderful experience they were having in Ireland, that they were getting ready for Cork, their planning process was under way and they complimented the consultants working with them. The meeting with the company was very upbeat and positive. The chief executive of the IDA and the secretary general of my Department were with me at that meeting. That is why I was amazed when I heard in early October the company was reviewing its operations in Clonmel.

Regarding the announcement, the decision in relation to Cork was leaked during the general election. The facility in Clonmel was officially opened on 4 June. However, to his credit my predecessor, Deputy Bruton, did not have anything to do with the leak nor did he officially launch the Seagate project for Cork until the day after the election, 13 June. Yesterday evening some time after 6 p.m. or 6.30 p.m. I contacted Deputy Bruton to inform him of what was happening as a matter of courtesy because he was involved in bringing in this project. It was the right thing to do and other Ministers did the same in similar situations.

Regarding mobile investment, it is very important to this economy, particularly American investment. There are 485 American companies operating here. By and large they are outstanding employers, pay good wages, have good working conditions and I am sure the workers in those companies would acknowledge that. This company is an exception and I hope it will remain one. Flexibility is very important. We are attractive to foreign investment. We are getting between 30 per cent to 40 per cent of all of the US projects investing in Europe, notwithstanding that we have less than 1 per cent of the European population. That is because of flexibility, the attitude of our workers, their skills base and low corporate taxes. We must maintain those competitive advantages because they are very important to our economy.

Mr. Sargent

The Minister did not answer my question.

Mr. Lowry

The Minister mentioned in the course of her reply that a senior executive of the company stated it would definitely go ahead with the project in Cork. The company has a modern plant, excellent infrastructure and a willing workforce familiar with its activities. Will the Minister clarify why, if the company is so committed to the project in Cork, it will not locate that project in Clonmel and retrain the existing workforce? Why is it necessary to build a new plant and recruit a new workforce?

The Minister stated that the IDA and she have enjoyed a good deal of success in attracting new jobs. A number of projects are under negotiation with the IDA. Will the Minister indicate a timescale for the conclusion of those negotiations and will Clonmel and Tipperary be given priority? Regarding the social dimension to this problem, will the Minister exercise her influence to ensure the financial institutions look sympathetically and fairly on any restructuring of young people's existing mortgages?

Miss Harney

Regarding the Deputy's query about Cork, I made the point he made to the company. It told me the work in Clonmel is at the low end of the market, assembling disk drives, and the project for Cork would involve making disks, which is a much more capital intensive and high tech development requiring workers with very different skills. The Clonmel facility and its workers, in the main, are not suitable for the Cork project. The company told me the cleanroom facilities and others that are needed for the Cork project could not be provided in Clonmel. Unfortunately, the Clonmel facility is not capable of what they call being "ramped up" to make a more value added product.

Regarding the timescale for those negotiations, it is hoped they will be concluded as quickly as possible. We want to get a replacement industry in there. The IDA will bring in client companies I hope before Christmas or shortly after. There are a number of companies in negotiations with the IDA, but from the time the IDA gets a positive response from a company negotiations can take between 18 months and two years. Clonmel will be the number one priority for the Government over the next few months because the devastation that will be caused by these job losses will be enormous for the town and the workers concerned.

Regarding the financial institutions, I will try to influence them if I can, but Deputy Lowry knows as well as I do that influencing financial institutions is like trying to influence multinational companies. In terms of mortgage subsidy and so on, I want to ensure that the State agencies and the statutory bodies help the workers in every way possible. By and large most of the workers will be paid up until the end of May and I hope that some time around then we will be in a position to start re-employing many of them. That is our aim. Most of them will get 14 weeks severance pay and the rest will get 11. The position of temporary workers has not yet been resolved. To get back to a position of having 1,400 people employed will take months rather than weeks and it might take years. Normally a company that will employ 1,000 to 2,000 people begins by employing 100 or 200 people and it can take a period of three to four years before the level is reached that was reached by Seagate in a couple of months, which was extraordinary. I cannot understand how that happened so rapidly.

Mr. Coveney

I do not want to turn this into a Cork versus Clonmel issue but the Minister said the company told her yesterday that it was still positive about Cork, or words to that effect, and that she laughed. I can understand her scepticism, but I urge her not to allow scepticism and caution to affect her judgment.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

A question please, Deputy Coveney. We are running out of time.

Mr. Coveney

If the Cork project is based on a high tech capital intensive proposal which is different from a commodity product and if the Minister believes, as I do, that Ireland is a particularly well equipped economy to meet the needs of that proposal, why did she laugh at that remark? Presumably they are not insane and have learned something from the debacle in Clonmel. I ask the Minister to be more positive in this regard. In the event of the Cork project not proceeding, I would like some confirmation of the Minister's seemingly qualified support for a task force, such as those established in Galway, Tallaght and Clonmel, to replace those one thousand or more jobs in Cork. We have not had a one thousand job operation in Cork in the past ten years.

Miss Harney

Boston Scientific is creating more than 1,000 jobs in Cork. There have been a number of recent announcements on job creation in the region, among them one relating to EMC — one of Seagate's customers. Indeed, Seagate told me that EMC was one of the reasons it located in Ireland as it wanted to supply its European customers from a European base.

I laughed because Seagate never indicated that closure was on the cards. The company led us to believe there were two alternatives to that and yet it announced a closure yesterday. I will not close any doors on this issue; it would be irresponsible of any Minister to do that. Let us examine Seagate's track record. The company pulled out of two sites in Dublin in 1990 and 1991, it then located in Clonmel and closed after two years.

Mr. Broughan

Why was the Minister not suspicious?

Mr. D. Ahern

The former Government made the decision to allow Seagate to locate in Clonmel.

(Interruptions.)

Miss Harney

It was a Government of which Deputy Broughan's party was a member which made the decision in relation to Seagate in June 1995 and in June 1997. That Government made those decisions in good faith and based on the best information available to it. We do not always get everything right.

I will look seriously at Deputy Coveney's suggestion in relation to Ringaskiddy and I agree that what is proposed for Cork is different from the Clonmel operation. The company is in difficulty internationally. When it acquired Conner Peripherals, it acquired 1.3 million square feet of factory space. It has closed down .5 million of that in Italy, Scotland and Asia. If the company recovers from its difficulties, convinces me of its good intentions and puts a lot of money up front then perhaps I will go to my Government colleagues and ask that it be given a second chance. However, I would be very reluctant to do that. We would have to see big changes for that to happen.

As I said to the company's management, the manner in which it handled this closure will also influence my attitude to the company. If it commits itself to implementing the undertakings it has given me then perhaps it will restore its image. Those commitments related to temporary workers, employment funds, the establishment of a job centre and the handing over of the facility at a reasonable price to a new investor. I would need to see that occurring before I could possibly approach the Government and seek millions of pounds of taxpayers' money for a new Seagate project in Cork.

Mr. Broughan

The Minister has not answered my question. What exactly did she do to avert this disaster? Why did she not set up a task force for south Tipperary last September when asked by Deputy Ferris to do so? Based on the figures given, the workers might receive an average redundancy payment of less than £4,000.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Please put a question to the Minister.

Mr. Broughan

How does the IDA evaluate these figures, does it give them due diligence and how do we know these figures are true ones?

Miss Harney

The IDA exercises due diligence and seeks the advice of leading world experts and analysts on these matters. An inter-agency group has been established in Tipperary but I wanted a specific group to be set up to deal with this disaster in Clonmel similar to the very successful one set up by former Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, in Tallaght. Tam Brands recently made a facility available in Tipperary and that is why the Pall Corporation located in the town. Clearly, Tipperary, and Clonmel in particular, will be a priority. Ninety five per cent of Seagate workers live within a ten mile radius of Clonmel town; the factory was worth £20 million a year to the region. Sub-suppliers and small indigenous companies will also lose out.

Mr. Broughan

Is the Minister satisfied with the level of redundancy payments?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister should not answer questions which come by way of interruption.

Miss Harney

Statutory redundancy does not apply because of the short length of time people have been employed by Seagate so severance payments will be made. The payments are better than they might have been although I wish they could be more. The company is making £6.5 million available for this purpose. I would like it to make more available for temporary workers. It is never easy to close a factory like this but it is particularly harsh in the run-up to Christmas. Tonight, some of the workers have their Christmas party and one can only imagine what that will be like.

Mrs. Owen

Who will pay for it?

Miss Harney

If the company wants to maintain its international reputation it should seriously consider providing severance payments for temporary workers.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

That concludes statements on the closure of the Seagate Technology plant.