Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Job Losses.

Mr. Broughan:

I first raised this issue with the Taoiseach last Thursday. It is fair to say that in

recent months there has been a jobs meltdown in the northside, west and entire Dublin region. Today we heard the horrendous news of the possible loss of 3,200 jobs, which follows the loss of 2,000 at Gateway in August, 600 job losses at Intel and dozens of job losses in smaller companies. In mid-August I tried to contact the Taoiseach on the matter. In early September as leader of the Labour Party on the City Council I put forward a motion which was passed unanimously asking the Taoiseach, supposedly the premier north side representative, to establish a jobs task force the remit of which would be the replacement of jobs lost and the protection of existing jobs in the most vulnerable and deprived areas of the north and west sides of Dublin. The city manager, John Fitzgerald, contacted the Taoiseach in early September but over a month later he is still waiting for a reply.

We need urgent action. Even before the events of 11 September there were a number of job losses on the north side as a result of a downturn in the IT sector and the general economic disaster of the Bush Presidency. Most on the north side were stunned on 9 August when we heard Gateway 2000 was closing. That closure was very carefully choreographed by the Tánaiste. The announcement was made at a time when the Tánaiste knew most of us were on holidays and when it was difficult for us to respond. This effectively meant the loss of 2,000 jobs as a year before that Gateway employed over 2,000 staff. Over a long period the number was allowed decrease and when the Tánaiste felt we were not looking it was closed. It is sad to see the factory for sale in the property pages of today's newspapers for £20 million. I wonder what the relationship is between the IDA and the Tánaiste in terms of that closure.

The closure of Gateway 2000 is one of many. The Internet cabling company, 360 Com., a very interesting company which cabled the US and Europe with Ireland, providing the main Internet connection, also closed, as did Seronix, a brilliant electronics company which made heart pacemakers. There was also a setback in Intel where I understand there have been at least 600 redundancies. Motorola has also closed – I could go on and on. The north side industrial estates, such as Clonshaugh and Airways, the other airport industrial estates, the west side estates in Blanchardstown and north Kildare and the Clondalkin and Ballyfermot industrial estates have been devastated and we have had no action from the Government, though it is led by a Taoiseach from the north side and a Tánaiste from the west side. They have delivered absolutely nothing; they are just wringing their hands.

This afternoon we had the sad spectacle of the Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke, projecting the loss of 3,200 jobs, half the work force of our national airline, which will have a desperate impact not just on the north and west of Dublin but on the Limerick, Shannon, Cork and north Kerry regions. It is a disaster and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are just wringing their hands while the Minister, Deputy O'Rourke, is like Loyola de Palacio laying down a right wing Thatcherite view of how we can behave in terms of our airline, a most amazing turn of events. We are the shareholder of that airline and the priority of the Minister should be to return the airline to profitability. It was doing very well through the sacrifices of the workforce and the work of the previous Government under my colleague, Deputy Spring, the former Tánaiste. That Government was prepared to invest money in the company and re-establish it as a very profitable business. We now have a pathetic response from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste who are not prepared to take the necessary action at EU level. We saw the immediate action taken by President Bush. He was prepared to invest resources, but here we have only had pussy-footing by the Minister with no action or effort to take a strong line at EU level.

We have a jobs melt down on the north and west sides of Dublin and the Taoiseach, if he has bottle and a sense of responsibility, must do something as a matter of urgency for the area which he represents.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. Treacy):

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I fully share his concern and disappointment over the recent job losses in north Dublin. I assure the Deputy and the House that every possible effort is being made by the national development agencies to secure replacement industries and by FÁS, the national training authority, to secure alternative employment for the work force affected.

I am very encouraged by the level of job offers which have already been made to employees who recently lost their jobs. For example, in the case of the closure of the Gateway plant in Clonshaugh, the company was immediately contacted by approximately 160 employers interested in hiring its staff. Some 21 companies from north Dublin attended a jobs fair at Gateway to recruit staff for their own operations and interviews are ongoing. In the last three weeks, FÁS has established an on-site employment office at the Gateway plant to assist employees in finding alternative employment. The efforts of FÁS are ongoing in this regard and over 300 people have already secured alternative employment. FÁS expects that the majority of the remaining staff will be able to find employment in the near future. Over 250 staff indicated they wanted to take up FÁS evening classes in a range of skills and they have been accommodated in FÁS training centres in Finglas, Cabra and Baldoyle.

IDA Ireland remains in close contact with the company with a view to minimising the effects of the closure by encouraging the outsourcing of activities currently carried out by the company. I understand the company is involved in negotiations with a number of companies in this regard with the possibility of transferring both business and personnel.

In the case of the staff of the Kylemore bakery who were recently made redundant, a significant number have already obtained alternative employment. FÁS and CERT, the State tourism training agency, have been working closely to provide a range of services for the employees and this work is ongoing. It is anticipated that the majority of the Kylemore staff will secure alternative employment very soon.

In the case of the other smaller closures in north Dublin in recent times, the services of the State agencies have also been available. If we look at the overall greater Dublin area, job prospects are very encouraging. Total employment in the Dublin area has increased from 511,000 people in May 1999 to 547,000 people in May this year. In the same period the unemployment rate in the Dublin area fell from 4.7% to 2.9%.

Mr. Broughan:

The rate is now rising.

Mr. Treacy:

Between 1997 and 2000 employment in IDA companies increased from 33,000 to 52,000 people and in Enterprise Ireland sponsored companies from 44,000 to 51,000 people.

The following major initiatives are currently creating significant job opportunities in the greater Dublin area. Construction on the new American Home Products facility at Grange Castle, near Clondalkin, is under way with 500 people already employed on site. This is the largest IDA project approved for Dublin in 2000. Construction will employ 2,500 over the next three years. The development represents a £1.1 billion investment by the company in Dublin and will create 1,300 jobs at full production. Recruitment of key personnel is already under way and significant recruitment will commence next year.

Construction of the Bristol Myers Squib facility in Blanchardstown is well advanced and production is due to commence in early 2,003. Recruitment is under way at the moment with 430 new jobs to be created here. In addition, the company's £70 million investment in Swords has been completed and most of the 70 new jobs are already in place.

The International Financial Services Centre, located in the Dublin Docklands, covers an area of 16 hectares and 120,000 square metres of world class offices have been developed for internationally traded services. A total of 800 projects have been licensed to trade there, including a number of leading banks and financial services companies.

Dublin is now one of the world leaders in software development. Nearly all the major technology companies have now invested in Dublin. In order to position Ireland's digital media sector at the forefront of the emerging global media revolution, a digital media district is being set up in Dublin's inner city. The decision of the MIT media lab to locate in Dublin will greatly enhance the international profile of the industry in Dublin city and accelerate the development of this sector in the Dublin region.

North Park is a new £70 million business park being developed at the junction of the M50 and North Road in Finglas, Dublin 11. The new park will provide 600,000 square feet of industrial space and two office blocks in a landscaped environment. Other significant developments are also being undertaken at various business parks around the city and county. In addition, the county and city enterprise boards have been working with micro enterprises and small scale start ups to increase the stock of companies in the region. The county and city enterprise boards work in close co-operation with Enterprise Ireland.

The national development agencies are working effectively and successfully in securing industrial development in the Dublin region and the overall level of employment remains robust. We do not consider the establishment of another task force is justified in present circumstances, but we will be keeping developments in the north side under close and continuous review. The Deputy and the people of north Dublin can be fully assured that the Tánaiste and I, together with our Department and the State development agencies, with the full support of the Government, will leave no stone unturned in assisting the economic and industrial development of Dublin's north side.