Vol. 567 No. 6
124 Mr. Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the planned closure of a factory (details supplied) in Rathfarnham with the loss of 180 jobs; the discussions she has had with a company (details supplied) in attempting to save local jobs; and her plans to address the growing levels of unemployment in the south Dublin area. [14958/03]
I am aware of the closure in question and I met representatives of the company and unions last February to discuss the situation. There is significant over capacity of ice cream production in Europe and this had already led to the closure of fifteen other company plants over the past eight years. The plant in Rathfarnham had been under review for a number of years. It remained unscathed following an earlier review but a review last year deemed it to be now too large to sustain the local ice cream market and too small, and not specialised enough, to be a competitive supplier to the European network. Over the next few weeks, FÁS will interview staff on site, as and when requested by the workers, to see what assistance can be provided to the workers including suitable training courses.
In south Dublin, Enterprise Ireland is working closely with 316 grant assisted projects in helping them to increase their competitiveness and exports. Last year, Enterprise Ireland provided financial support to 61 projects in south County Dublin at a cost of €2.67 million. At the micro-enterprise level, the South Dublin County Enterprise Board has, since its inception, supported a significant number of projects in the area. As regards foreign direct investment, Wyeth Biopharma in Grangecastle, Clondalkin, has 500 highly skilled people already employed at its facility. This major investment will create 1,300 jobs by 2005. The Japanese pharmaceuticals project, Takeda Chemical Industries which announced its major investment in Ireland, has begun construction in Grangecastle, Clondalkin. This will be Takeda's first bulk pharmaceuticals plant to be constructed outside Japan. The plant will employ more than 60 people upon completion.
