Vol. 514 No. 1
54 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the jobs, if any, which have been made available for the workers of Fruit of the Loom who lost their jobs; the situation in Fruit of the Loom; the number of people employed there; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3480/00]
114 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the jobs, if any, which have been made available for the workers of Fruit of the Loom who lost their jobs; the situation in Fruit of the Loom; the number of people employed there; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3551/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 114 together.
Since the announcement of redundancies in Fruit of the Loom at the end of 1998, Enterprise Ireland has approved investment assistance towards projects that have the potential to create approximately 250 jobs throughout the county. In addition, a medical equipment company from Malaysia is expected to commence production in Dungloe later this year with assistance from Udarás na Gaeltachta. This project will provide initial employment of 75, rising to more than 300.
The immediate priority of the Donegal employment initiative was to facilitate re-entry to employment or retraining for all those who lost their jobs in Fruit of the Loom and other plants in Donegal in recent months. A programme of registration interviews was organised by FÁS and all of the redundant workers were offered re-training opportunities. FÁS has recently completed a review of more than 1,000 redundant workers who had been registered under this programme. A total of 22% of those who responded, 477, indicated that they had signed off the live register to take up a wide variety of new employment opportunities. A further 16% indicated that they had signed off to take up training.
Fruit of the Loom's parent company, Fruit of the Loom Inc., recently filed a petition for a re-organisation under chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code while it prepares for a financial and operating restructuring. As part of its re-organisation, one of its bank lenders agreed to provide a new $625 million credit facility. Fruit of the Loom Inc., stated that this facility will ensure that it has the short-term capital necessary to continue normal day to day operations. The company also stated that the chapter 11 filing should have little impact on customers and employees. Fruit of the Loom management is confident that the restructuring of its operations and capital structure will enable the company to emerge stronger in the competitive basic apparel industry and continue to build on its reputation for producing high quality apparel.
Total current employment at Fruit of the Loom in Donegal is 970 people. This is expected to be maintained at this level throughout this year.
55 Mr. B. Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the measures, if any, which will be implemented to ensure a better distribution of job creation throughout the country in view of the needs of the Border region and the need to attract inward investment to County Cavan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3532/00]
The Government, through its enterprise support agencies, is committed to ensuring the most equitable distribution of job opportunities. The development agencies are now strongly focused on achieving this aim and resources are being deployed to reflect this new focus. In this regard, the Border region, including Cavan, is a particular priority location for promotional purposes by the agencies.
The agencies' focus on regionalisation ensures that an attractive financial package will be made available to any appropriate project, which may choose to locate or expand in the regions.
IDA lreland as part of its new focus on the regions, is seeking to deliver more than 50% of all newly approved greenfield jobs to the Objective One region, which includes Cavan and Monaghan. As a direct result of this increased marketing focus, there is a strong flow of potential clients visiting the advance factory in Cavan. IDA Ireland's objective is to secure a client for this facility at the earliest possible date.
IDA Ireland's regional strategy includes the establishment of its new Border headquarters in Cavan town where the agency's area director is based, together with newly appointed staff for this office. Internally, IDA Ireland has been restructured to support this strategy. Staff resources in the agency's offices for the Border region have been increased by one third, giving greater focus on the entire area.
However, the new IDA Ireland strategy, is not merely a question of jobs dispersal, it also aims to bring a better mix of industry sectors and higher value industries to locations around the country, in particular, to locations that have not seen the emergence of the more modern industries. The agency's new strategy also addresses the need to increase the value and sustainability of overseas companies already established or about to establish in Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland is also committed to developing indigenous industry and to regional dispersal. In addition to working with its core client base, the agency, because of its involvement in all aspects of business development – finance, technology, human resources, etc – works closely with all development organisations in the region as well as the third level educational institutions, local development bodies and other industry to pro actively facilitate an integrated approach to development in the region.
