Vol. 573 No. 2
11 Ms Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps being taken to provide alternative employment for the west Dublin area in view of the loss of 640 jobs at a company (details supplied) and the implications for the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24477/03]
I was very disappointed at the recent announcement by 3Com that it is to close its manufacturing facility at Ballycoolin Business Park, Blanchardstown, County Dublin, with the loss of 640 jobs, due to global restructuring and existing difficulties in the marketplace. The announcement is a blow to the workers, their families and the wider community. The facility will close by February 2004, with redundancies commencing the end of November 2003.
I understand that the company is offering a generous redundancy package and assistance in obtaining alternative employment. FÁS has also informed the company that its full range of services will be made available to those being made redundant. Enterprise Ireland, in conjunction with Fingal County Enterprise Board, is organising an enterprise day on Wednesday 29 October 2003 in the Draíocht arts theatre in the Blanchardstown Centre. This will be a high profile event to promote enterprise job creation in the Blanchardstown area.
IDA Ireland's strategy for the West Dublin area is to attract and encourage expansion of foreign direct investment projects, moving up the value chain while doing so. In this regard, I was pleased with the announcement in September, by eBay and its associated company PayPal, that they will locate their new European business centres at Blanchardstown. The investment will create up to 800 new jobs by 2005, with recruitment already under way for the PayPal operations.
Swords Laboratories Limited, a pharmaceutical facility located at Cruiserath, Blanchardstown, is currently being commissioned. It is projected that 500 staff will be employed at the facility when full production commences. Recruitment is now under way, with 90 positions already filled.
I wish to assure Deputy Burton, that the State agencies, under the auspices of my Department, will continue to work closely in the interests of developing the west Dublin area.
I thank the Minister for her reply. The question remains; what precisely is she prepared to do for the 3Com workers? This company has been a good employer. In many ways it was the talisman industry in west Dublin, having been established in the early 1990s and expanded during the birth of the Celtic tiger. Many of its workers were employed in relatively low-skill manufacturing jobs. As the Minister said, they gave excellent service. What will the Minister do for these young people with heavy family and mortgage commitments?
In the Blanchardstown area, as in the parts of the Minister's constituency in Lucan and Clondalkin, there is a complete crisis of confidence, particularly in more deprived communities and areas of local authority housing. This is compounded by the closure of options regarding community employment schemes and others. Will the Minister provide specific training to upskill the 3Com workers in order that they can compete for the welcome jobs in developments like eBay, otherwise a whole generation of workers will be made redundant without any job alternatives being put in place? Job losses are not just happening in Blanchardstown, they are occurring in every town in Ireland.
As the Deputy is aware, the reason for these jobs losses is that the company has decided to outsource the production of network adapters due to the oversupply in the global market. The decision was taken to outsource this work rather than have it as part of its core business, even though the Irish operation was quite successful. FÁS will offer re-training where it is required. It has already engaged with the workforce. It is easier to do this in the Dublin area. We sometimes need to put training facilities in place on the ground in areas where no training centres exist.
Many companies in west Dublin and north Kildare are currently recruiting and are interested in acquiring the skills of these workers. I understand the workers concerned come from Blanchardstown, Palmerstown and surrounding areas. Training will be forthcoming for those who need or want to be upskilled for alternative jobs. The company is anxious to participate in the provision of alternative training.
The company has been very good and in fairness to its Irish management as well as its international management, they tried to stave off the evil day in Blanchardstown for as long as possible but the global downturn in IT damaged them. I do not detect any sense of urgency in the Minister's response. Would this be the case if the loss of 640 jobs happened anywhere else in Ireland where people have been working for ten and 11 years? I spoke to one young woman who has worked in 3Com for nine years and would like to upgrade her skills. No specific resources are being provided nor are any specific efforts being made by the Department to bring a message of hope to these workers as Christmas approaches. Apart from the general resources provided to everybody by FÁS, what is the Minister doing for Blanchardstown and the workers in the company under discussion in the context of such a heavy and concentrated loss of jobs?
In the Blanchardstown area, along the M50, we have announced the creation of 8,000 new jobs over the past three years. That is considerably more than in most places. We do not have a specific programme for each company as that is neither realistic nor possible. However, the facilities and services provided by FÁS have the flexibility to offer the person to whom the Deputy refers what she requires. I do not wish to concentrate on one person as there is much more at stake. I am optimistic that whatever upskilling or re-training is required can be made available by FÁS and I will ensure that is the case.
