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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 19 Jun 2001

Vol. 538 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Job Losses.

For some time now, we in Dungarvan have been worried about the future of our two American factories which belong to multinational companies. A series of mergers and buy-outs has caused this worry. The original Smith Kline Beecham company merged late last year with another pharmaceutical giant, Glaxo Wellcome, to form the conglomerate GlaxoSmithKline. Just down the road we have the Stafford Miller branch of another multinational. The owners of this group, the Bloch family, let it be known last year that they were anxious to sell their enterprise worldwide

The Stafford Miller international operation, which manufacturer the toothpaste, Sensodyne, and other dental products, was by pure coincidence purchased by GlaxoSmithKline. We had, therefore, two multinationals merging within a few hundred yards of each other. Obviously we were apprehensive about developments. We feared that as a result of these changes there might be some form of rationalisation in one of the plants in Dungarvan and so it transpired last Thursday with the announcement that the operations of the Dungarvan branch of the Stafford Miller company would be transferred to Maidenhead in England with the loss of 104 jobs.

Please note that there has always been a first class working relationship between workers and management at the factory and that the lay-offs are due to what the principals described as the restructuring of their operations. There have not been industrial problems at the factory in question and certainly no disputes.

Dungarvan is the county town of Waterford. It has its own industrial base which was dependent on four factories, two of which I have mentioned, GlaxoSmithKline and Stafford Miller. Waterford Glass or, as it is known locally, Dungarvan Crystal, is the third and the fourth is Waterford Foods. However, two years ago the town suffered a very serious blow when the indigenous industry of Waterford Foods closed down with the loss of 400 jobs. This is the most established industry in the town. Between those 400 job losses and the 104 in Stafford Miller, we have lost more than 500 jobs, which is a great deal in a relatively small provincial town.

I ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, in conjunction with IDA Ireland, to direct her efforts towards the establishment of new industry in Dungarvan, be it one large scale factory or a series of smaller units. IDA Ireland has a 36 acre land bank in the town and with the construction of the state-of-the-art Waterford treatment plant imminent, the site will be suitable for a wide range of industries. It would also be appreciated if the Minister would agree to meet the four Deputies from the Waterford constituency in the next few days to discuss the problems arising from this setback in the town bearing in mind the comments she made over the weekend regarding the job losses at Stafford Miller.

When questioned about the announcement last Thursday the Tánaiste commented that the news was a particular blow to an area of the State that had not fared as well as others in attracting new industries. That statement speaks for itself. The Tánaiste is aware that we suffered a massive loss when Waterford Foods closed down. We now have an additional loss. IDA Ireland and other State agencies have not been successful in attracting new industries to the town. The Tánaiste has acknowledged that and I ask that she meets us and IDA Ireland immediately to discuss the problem and try to rectify it as soon as possible.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I share fully his disappointment at the announcement of the loss of 108 jobs at the Stafford Miller plant in Dungarvan, County Waterford. Stafford Miller is a wholly owned subsidiary of Block Drug Company Inc. which was recently acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK employs a total of 1,350 people between its Dublin, Cork and Dungarvan facilities. There are currently 381 people employed by the company in its Stafford Miller factory in Dungarvan.

GlaxoSmithKline is in the process of reviewing worldwide operations in light of the merger between Glaxo Wellcome and Smithkline Beecham. On foot of this, a decision has been taken to transfer the manufacturing operations for toothpaste out of Dungarvan to the GSK facility in Maidenhead in England and to increase production of Poligrip denture fixative at the Dungarvan plant. Regrettably, the net result of this is a loss of 108 jobs in Dungarvan. These will be by way of voluntary redundancies and I understand that they will not take place until well into 2002. The company has committed itself to providing outreach support for those who opt for redundancy. None of the other GSK units operating in Ireland is affected by the announcement.

Notwithstanding these losses, however, the consolidation of worldwide Poligrip manufacture in Dungarvan and the positioning of the plant as a focused denture care facility will provide a platform for future growth. The key objective now is to ensure that alternative employment is found for those workers who are to lose their jobs over the next year. FÁS has already been in touch with the human resources manager of GlaxoSmithKline, with a view to offering the full range of FÁS services to the workers who will be affected by redundancy.

IDA Ireland remains committed to the promotion and development of Dungarvan and of County Waterford. Its strategy is to focus on the growth sectors of international services, pharmaceuticals and information and communications technologies for new greenfield investment and to work with existing overseas companies to win expansions. However, there have been a number of positive developments in Waterford in recent times. In January last, the Tánaiste announced that Sun Life Information Services Ireland Limited, a member of the Sun Life Financial of Canada group of companies, will create 200 new jobs in Waterford city over the next four years with the establishment of a business support centre, which will be a key element in supporting the company's growing business in the US. Sun Life is a diversified international financial services organisation, focused on providing financial solutions to businesses and individuals. It already has an information technology services centre in Waterford.

Last month, the Tánaiste announced that Waterford is to be the location for a significant new investment project in the biotechnology sector with the potential to create 480 new jobs. Genzyme Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, one of the largest independent pharmaceutical-biotechnology companies in the world, plans to establish, with the support of IDA Ireland, a new manufacturing facility on a 32 acre site in Waterford. The facility will be the initial project in a manufacturing investment envisioned by Genzyme that could reach 250 million and have the potential for creating up to 480 new jobs over five years. Genzyme will locate in an existing building formerly occupied by Luxottica-Rayban at the IDA Ireland Business Park in Waterford. The facility will be converted and used in the manufacture of Renagel tablets, a product used in the treatment of patients with kidney disease who are on dialysis. This project will be a high quality, high value operation and will have a major impact in Waterford. This is a strong endorsement by a world class company that Waterford can offer enormous opportunities to investors.

In Dungarvan, IDA Ireland is actively promoting the 27,000 square foot advance factory provided by Irish Business Against Litter – IBAL. This is an adaptable, well positioned building and the new entrance road, which is now completed, will be an important factor in attracting a suitable client as access to the site has presented difficulties in the past. IDA Ireland has also recently acquired a 35 acre site in Dungarvan which is located adjacent to the existing IDA Ireland industrial estate. Agreement has been reached with Waterford County Council on plans to develop the site and work is set to begin shortly.

What about the factory that foundered?

Enterprise Ireland is working with indigenous industry in the Waterford region to assist it in developing sustainable competitive advantage. Century Homes, an Enterprise Ireland company, has commenced production in the advance factory in Dungarvan. It manufactures timber frame houses and will employ 70 people over the next few years. The factory will be expanded in autumn 2001. Earlier this year, the Tánaiste established a group representing all relevant interests under the banner "Strategy Waterford" in recognition of Waterford's failure to achieve the same success as other major urban centres. The members are representative of business, local government, community groups and trade unions supported by the Government's development agencies. This group will play a very important role in developing Waterford as a key location for new business.

In addition, IDA Ireland's south-east regional office is located in Waterford city and this is soon to be expanded with a team of ten key executives headed by a senior manager. This team will have responsibility for some of IDA Ireland's critical target sectors for investment – information and communications technologies and engineering. It is envisaged that this new presence and focus will drive growth across the region and allow the city to become a magnet for development in the south-east. This special focus by IDA Ireland will be of major benefit to Dungarvan with its excellent infrastructure, schools, housing and vibrant business environment. I will take Deputy Deasy's message to the Tánaiste in the morning.

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