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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 Apr 2008

Vol. 650 No. 3

Ceisteanna — Questions (Resumed).

Social Partnership.

Enda Kenny

Question:

1 Deputy Enda Kenny asked the Taoiseach the proposed work of the National Economic and Social Council during 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3546/08]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

2 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council and the National Economic and Social Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4979/08]

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

3 Deputy Eamon Gilmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council and the National Economic and Social Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6171/08]

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

4 Deputy Eamon Gilmore asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the outcome of the plenary meeting of the social partners under the Towards 2016 agreement in Dublin Castle on 15 February 2008. [5708/08]

Enda Kenny

Question:

5 Deputy Enda Kenny asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the recent round-table meeting with the social partners to discuss the national pay negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7442/08]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

6 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the outcome of the meeting of the parties to the Towards 2016 agreement on 15 February 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7913/08]

Martin Ferris

Question:

7 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the participation of environmental groups in social partnership. [8028/08]

Willie Penrose

Question:

8 Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Taoiseach the areas for which his Department has responsibility that the Government would wish to see on the agenda for the forthcoming talks with the social partners on a new national agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8321/08]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together.

The social partnership process comprises the institutions for shared analysis and reflection, the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, and the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, and the arrangements for negotiation and monitoring of agreements, specifically the current agreement, Towards 2016. During 2008, NESC will undertake a number of studies which will develop the economic, social and environmental analysis set out in the council's 2006 strategy, People, Productivity and Purpose. In particular, the council expects to complete the following studies: an economic report, which will give an overview of key economic themes and develop an understanding of Ireland's transition to a new economic context, and a social report, which the Government has asked the council to prepare on a periodic basis. The council expects to finish this work by the autumn. In addition, the council secretariat will contribute to the Futures Ireland project, in collaboration with the NESF and the NCPP. This project was recommended by the Information Society Commission and agreed by Government and the social partners in the Towards 2016 partnership programme.

During 2008, the council will also initiate a number of other studies, including a review of the challenges of climate change and sustainable energy to contribute to building a greater shared understanding of these issues among economic and social organisations; a project to review the regimes of standards and accountability in a range of service areas, including social care, education, training, labour market services and aspects of health care, and identify approaches which can support not only minimum standards, but also continuous improvement and tailoring of services to diverse and changing needs in line with the model of a developmental welfare state proposed in previous council reports; and a study of the quality and inclusiveness of first-time education.

The NESF completed work on a number of reports published during 2007. These include, Improving the Delivery of Quality Public Services; The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion; and Mental Health and Social Inclusion, including a research survey on mental health in the workplace. The forum also recently published a report, commissioned by the ESRI, entitled A Statistical Analysis of Public Involvement in the Arts. In addition, the NESF hosted the social inclusion forum in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in November 2007. The NESF secretariat is also at an advanced stage in preparing the fifth periodic report, which will review the policy impact of the reports published by the NESF over the period 2004 to 2006. The membership of the new forum is in place, following the recent nominations to the Oireachtas strand, and its immediate priority will be to agree a new work programme for the period to 2010.

The third plenary meeting of the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, was held on 15 February. Towards 2016 commits that:

A formal review will take place during 2008. This will provide an opportunity to take stock of outcomes achieved in relation to the overall goals and to consider any opportunities arising to refocus and reprioritise.

Towards 2016 also provides that the pay agreement would come into force on the expiry of the Mid-Term Review of Sustaining Progress and would last for 27 months. Given that the terms of the pay agreement for the private sector under Towards 2016 expired last month, the review process will include negotiations on a new pay round. The pay terms for the public sector expire at end-September.

I used the opportunity of the plenary meeting to formally invite the social partners to participate in a review of Towards 2016 and a copy of my speech has been placed in the Oireachtas Library. The programme for Government commits that "arrangements for representation of environmental issues in Social Partnership will be considered in the course of the review of Towards 2016 which will take place in 2008." The issue of environmental representation in social partnership will be considered further during this review in consultation with the social partners.

Any change to the structure of social partnership must be carefully considered and the Government previously identified clear and specific criteria against which applications to join the social partnership process are considered. These include that organisations requesting social partner status be national and representative in nature, that they have the capacity to meet the demands and obligations that arise as part of this participation and that they will add to the capacity of the social partnership process to address issues effectively. In addition, any organisations will be required to formally endorse the Towards 2016 agreement.

It is a little unreal that we are taking Taoiseach's questions, given the events of the day, and it will be difficult to hold the Taoiseach to commitments he might make in the next month.

Maintaining competitiveness must be the bread and butter of a social partnership system and the consequences of social partnership. Is the Taoiseach concerned by the remarks made recently by Barack Obama, a candidate for the US Presidency? He is interested in implementing legislation that would allow for the repatriation of moneys by American multinationals, which would have a serious impact on Ireland. Will the Taoiseach raise that issue with his counterpart in the US when he visits there in the next month?

The Central Bank has indicated that Ireland's share of world trade has declined by a quarter, competitiveness has deteriorated by 30%, 30,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost, Ireland's balance of payments has turned from a surplus to a record deficit of just under €10 billion and unemployment is at a ten-year high. Social partnership has had its value but, for instance, following the driving test fiasco and the failure to introduce widespread e-government, the model is stuck in the old ways. It is not the one we need now to deal with confidence for the future and to face the challenges of a new era, given the competitiveness challenge from the far east and emerging countries in Europe and the US. Will the Taoiseach comment on that?

Barack Obama's proposal is a Democratic Party policy initiative brought forward by John Kerry during the last election and it is something we must carefully monitor. Previously, IDA Ireland had a specialist in the US on contract to watch these developments and to lobby on the issues. The last time Senator Ted Kennedy was very helpful in at least putting the Irish cause at the top level within the Democratic Party so those involved will understand the sensitivities. I understand the argument from a United States point of view. The more money they keep and treat to the best advantage within their own Administration, the better it is for them. However, there are other considerations. US companies invest in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, giving them access to a market of 460 million people, which they would not be able to access otherwise. Failure to invest outside the US and to have incentives for such investment so that these companies can reinvest, extend and update their innovation and research is a consideration for the United States if they want to successfully grow their own multinational companies to invest all over the world. There is a strong case. Once again, the issue has come up and we must follow the debate to make sure we put our case. We will do that, but many senior people such as Senator Chris Dodds and others are very familiar with our argument and our presentation. However, it is not just about Ireland. It is about all of the investment companies out of the United States and we must deal with that.

On the second issue, there is no doubt that in any negotiations on social partnership the issue of competitiveness is crucial because so many jobs in this country exist, or in many cases co-exist, because we are able to produce goods and services and export them at a productive rate which allows us to be able to compete in the international market and provide jobs at home. If one's competitiveness is lost the danger is always that one can lose these jobs. This is well understood in the social partnership process.

It is not just an issue of wages and salaries, which are obviously one part of competitiveness. Increasingly in recent years, there is also the tax take — our taxes on employment and labour have been low by international standards. There are insurance costs, which we have brought down enormously over the past number of years. There are also energy costs and infrastructural costs. The reason we spend 6% of our GDP on infrastructure is to make it competitive. All of these arguments come into it and in this round of negotiations, like every round, the Government side, and also the employers and trade unions, would be conscious of competitiveness.

While most of the current job losses are in the residential construction side, we are still doing very well in foreign direct investment and we are developing indigenous Irish companies. We are doing extremely well and I think we are the number one exporter of services internationally, which is an enormous achievement by our companies. There is no ground for complacency in that.

On the third point, one can never pay any more than can be afforded in fair negotiations. Really, what social partnership and all the reviews done into this are about is that we pay our public servants and our private sector workers what is achievable within an economy. Yes, there are pressures internationally. One only has to pick up an international commentary to see the difficulties out there such as what happened in sub-prime lending, the financial downturn, inter-bank borrowing difficulties and the loss of confidence in many parts of the world about the future. These are all difficulties and one way or another to some extent they affect us and we must be conscious of them.

This country is still strong. Employment is strong. Our debt ratio is historically low. Where there are pressures we just have to manage them in a sensible way. The reality is that all the underlying strengths of the Irish economy are positive. We just have to manage ourselves through a sharp international downturn. If we do that, as we have done in recent years, we will get the bounce as soon as the international economy bounces.

I ask the Ceann Comhairle to allow me, as the leader of the smaller of the three Opposition parties in the House who did not have an opportunity to do so during Leaders' Questions, to take the opportunity to offer the Taoiseach good wishes for the remainder of his term as Taoiseach and for whatever time lies before him in public service. I commend him on all the good he has done over the years. While there will be undoubted differences, we will have the opportunity to reflect on these again. I wish him well and I hope his departure not only represents a change in personnel sitting where he is but that the opportunity might also be taken to arrange for a change in policy direction in a number of key areas, not least in health.

I knew the Deputy would say that.

There is no chance the Taoiseach is taking the good Deputy Harney with him. I will dream on. One never knows. Today was a surprise and perhaps another one will present itself.

The Taoiseach will recall that one of the most important reports presented by the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, in recent years focused on the care of older people. With regard to questions I asked the Taoiseach in the past as to what happens to reports presented by the NESF, he indicated these are referred to Departments and are taken on board. Specifically with regard to the report prepared on the care of older people, has it been presented to the appropriate Department and has it been taken on board? To what can the Taoiseach point in the recommendations of the NESF which has since been taken on board and either worked towards or implemented?

In particular, what is the position regarding the proposed fair deal scheme for subsidising nursing home care for older people? Is it the case, as has been reported, that this is now mired in constitutional difficulties and that the €110 million earmarked for its initial implementation and introduction has been diverted into other areas? Will the Taoiseach advise us what is the actual position with regard to the fair deal scheme at this point in time? When will we see the full detail of its essence brought before us? Is the Taoiseach aware that in November 2007, nine organisations flagged difficulties with regard to the fair deal proposals? Where does this stand? Like myself, a number of people on the Front Bench are heading towards the need for care for older people and it seems to be presenting some humour to them. I assure them this is not a humorous issue.

As the Taoiseach lumped so many questions together, I also wish to ask questions with regard to the incremental wage increases in Towards 2016. Given that they have not kept pace with inflation and the fact that the 0.5% additional increase for low-paid workers has proven derisory, is it the case that in future partnership engagement specific reference and attention will be paid to the needs of low-paid workers as against being lumped into wage agreements in general? Will particular attention be paid to the needs of low-paid workers, particularly as we are looking at more straitened economic circumstances presenting in the time ahead?

With regard to the promise that 90 labour inspectors would be delivered under Towards 2016, in reply to a recent parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy Arthur Morgan, it was established from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment that we would have 50 inspectors at the start of this year. How many are in place as we speak? When will the 90 promised under Towards 2016 be delivered?

I thank Deputy Ó Caoláin for his good wishes, which I appreciate.

A number of reports were published by NESF in its work programme, including on improving the delivery of quality public services, the arts, cultural inclusion and social cohesion, mental health, creating a more inclusive labour market, early childhood care and education, and the report mentioned by the Deputy on care for older people. Once reports are published, the recommendations in each report are referred to the relevant Ministers for their consideration.

As I stated, the forum is in the process of finalising its fifth periodic report which will provide details of those recommendations implemented under the headings. The Deputy will know in the aged area, every year in the budget a large increase has been directed to assist the aged. Under the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, we have co-ordinated and brought the care of the aged groups together under direct responsibility and this helps the entire focus in this area. Questions on the details of all the recommendations should be put to the Minister of State.

As Deputy Ó Caoláin will appreciate, I would not accept that the pay increases were in any way minimal. What we have done in recent years, under the social partnership agreements, in respect of tax and pay and in other areas has meant strong gains for employees. Without pre-empting the negotiations on this round, it is fair to say the talks will be set in the context of a more challenging environment. The parties are aware of the realities as set out for them by myself and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when we met in Dublin Castle on 15 February. It is critical we seek to protect our national competitiveness and that we maintain our public finances in a strong position. It is important that expectations take account of these fundamentals.

I anticipate discussions in the course of the talks in respect of issues such as pensions, agency workers, employment law compliance, public service reform and benchmarking. This is not about pay alone but about other issues flagged by the various social partners with whom we must deal.

Deputy Ó Caoláin spoke about the challenges facing workers. We are all aware that increases last year in mortgage interest rates and oil prices have driven inflation — they account for more than half our inflation rate. Unfortunately, these factors are not within our domestic control. In particular, energy prices are not determined by Government but are set independently by the Commission for Energy Regulation in light of prevailing conditions. Mortgage interest relief is a large component of service inflation. It is clear that limited competition in the services sector is an issue and that this should continue to be a priority for the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. We will work to ensure that the increases given to workers in all these areas are meaningful in terms of their quality of life and standard of living. The statistics clearly show that workers have gained from the national agreements made under the social partnerships during the past 20 years.

The Taoiseach made no reference in his response to my question on the current position of the fair deal debacle. This important matter needs to be addressed in the context of all of this and perhaps the Taoiseach will address it.

As regards low paid workers and the 0.5% additional increase, will the Taoiseach accept that it is imperative that low pay is a singular issue for discussion in future talks in relation to social partnership and that without it we will, in my view, fail to reach agreement or, worse, fail to meet the needs of people who are already struggling to make ends meet? What action does the Taoiseach propose to take regarding the HSE, which is one of the largest employers in this State, an agent of Government, which was recently found guilty by the Labour Court of being in breach of Towards 2016? What action is to be taken in this regard?

Deputy Ó Caoláin, I must allow other members to contribute. Magnus Magnusson would not be able to remember all the questions the Deputy asked.

I will conclude with the following question. What action does the Government intend to take in respect of the HSE's job cuts and the whole debacle that took place last year and is still ongoing? Some 30,000 health care workers are currently balloting for industrial action as a consequence of the HSE's obstinacy and attitude towards its employees. This is aside from how it has stood over the continued diminution of health care services in this State, which is a disgrace in itself.

Discussions on the fair deal legislation are ongoing between the Departments and Attorney General. It is hoped the legislation will be ready shortly.

On low pay, Deputy Ó Caoláin will have seen the European Union charts which show that year after year Ireland, through the minimum wage and its tax policy of keeping low paid workers out of the tax net, is more committed to ensuring a better deal for low paid workers than any other country in Europe. We first made changes in this regard six or seven years ago and have continued to do so every year since then. Ireland has been commended in that regard. Our low paid workers are paid more and our minimum wage is the second highest in Europe. This money is not taxed. We also have the family income supplement which assists people with particular difficulties and various other supplements to assist large families. There can be no criticism of the protection afforded by us to our low paid workers. The issue is continuing to afford to do these things.

Deputy Ó Caoláin also asked about the compliance legislation. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, published a Bill on 18 March, which is since I last spoke on this issue. This legislation will completely overhaul the State's employment rights framework and meets the commitment contained in Towards 2016. It will serve to modernise the labour inspectorate and strengthen the enforcement of employment rights and work permits. It will also promote greater compliance in the workplace and increase penalties for those employers who seek to gain advantage by denying employees their entitlements under law.

The National Employment Rights Authority has received additional staff. To the best of my knowledge, when I last reported on this matter, only a few staff positions remained to be filled. The legislation empowers NERA labour inspectors to examine employment permits, prosecute offences and conduct investigations. It also provides for greater penalties, protection for whistleblowers and sets out a comprehensive list of the documents which must be kept by employers. All of the commitments set out in the negotiations on Towards 2016 are dealt with in this legislation. Other legislation deals with agency workers; they are not part of that Bill. We have honoured our commitments. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, will bring the legislation through the House this session.

Regarding the HSE and Labour Court issues, the Government has always honoured Labour Court recommendations. The Government, with its officials, tries to assist agencies or organisations in resolving difficulties. An enormous amount of commitment and effort has been put into dealing with the issues that arose last September in respect of the embargo which it was perceived by workers had to be dealt with. We have put in place a mechanism through which these issues can be examined and have worked within the health forum to bring about a resolution which reflects change, productivity and an enhanced service. The Government and HSE must work together to try to improve the service and to get value for the enormous amount of resources being provided.

I would like to ask the Taoiseach about the considerable spinning going on following the talks with the social partners. The Taoiseach stated that most of the commitments have been honoured. However, David Begg, secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, was remarkably apologetic on radio as he explained how the inflation rate had overtaken pay increases. This leads one to reflect on what he has received over on the social side by way of compensation. When one goes back to the text of the agreement one finds, in respect of affordable housing, a complete failure to deliver. Pursuing the spirit of what has been agreed and regarded as a success, I recall that in those days it was described as having two fundamental principles, cohesion and competitiveness. The economy was to be competitive in an international trading environment. One must have cohesion with a reduction in gaps in incomes, gaps in services, gaps in access to education and access to services for the elderly. Suddenly cohesion is missing from all the scripts and we are supposed to be entering bad times when we are to receive lectures on competitiveness. In order to be positive on the day that is in it, if it is acknowledged that inflation has surpassed some of the basic increases, where then are the non-wage gains for the social partners? Did the Taoiseach discuss these at the meetings? For example, the Taoiseach discussed with me over the past year or two something which is very basic, the abuse by the Competition Authority of its role in such a fashion as would undermine the trade union Acts. The Taoiseach suggested that maybe he would legislate in this area and deal with it or he would deal with it when the social partnership talks were taking place. Has he dealt with that basic issue, for example, the right of collective representation, which is still outstanding?

He then moved on to the question about housing. Let us be positive and say that the contraction in the construction industry in the private speculative sector releases a significant number of labour skills that are available for the public housing programme. What do the social partners ask of the Taoiseach and what did he offer in terms of an expanded public programme, be it in terms of social housing or affordable housing? Reflecting on the new Green influence, that is no doubt present every Tuesday in the Cabinet, did the Taoiseach decide to shift resources from roads to rail? Where is the enhanced public transport programme and was it discussed by the social partners and did it interest them?

Perhaps if there were not going to be any real wage increases, did the social partners remember the document on child care they produced at the beginning of the talks the last time which showed the comparison between the absence of child care provisions in Ireland compared to European provisions?

This is a whole set of issues. The idea is that we are at the end of a period of significant success and we must now make sure we discuss only competitiveness. We derived from the European objective in the Lisbon accord the twin aims of cohesion and competitiveness, cohesion in terms of narrowing all the gaps and achieving inclusiveness. Competitiveness is necessary because we must trade internationally.

In times when the Taoiseach is not offering material on the wage side, what is he offering on the non-wage side? What is he offering on working time, on increased protection and all the other areas I mentioned such as child care, the difference between the actual net wage and the social wage, and so forth? Is it that the social partners came to the meeting with the Taoiseach and said they acknowledged they did not get what was promised to them but they were willing to say a prayer together for the future? Where is it and what is on offer by way of compensation for the non-delivery? What is on offer by way of balancing the demands being made for competitiveness? I am not interested in this spinning of information. One could re-read the tax statistics and say the fact that so many people are out of the tax net is because we are well on our way to a low wage economy.

Deputy Higgins has asked me approximately 30 questions.

It is multiple choice.

His basic point was that there is another side to the argument other than competitiveness. I thought I made it clear earlier that of course there is another side. Workers understand that to keep the jobs of everybody they must be competitive but that does not mean they are not receiving gains. The social partnership process has delivered gains in return for productivity, competitiveness and more flexible working. Taxes, proportionally and in every other way, have decreased massively in terms of workers' wages over the years. This happened as a result of the negotiations. This is what happened in the early years and has continued. It also extended into the areas of lifestyle such as helping older people in the life cycle approach and helping younger people and helping with child care by way of significant investment.

Deputy Higgins referred to the affordable housing scheme as a total failure. The Government set out to expand social and affordable housing and the housing policy statement on sustaining communities and the national development plan reflected that commitment. The national development plan provided resources of some €18 billion in total to support increased output of social and affordable housing to help 140,000 households. Those things would not have happened outside of the context of social partnership. A significant programme of activity has been undertaken to assist house purchase under the national development programme — 40,000 households. State lands have been given for that. In addition, the national development plan resources will be used to meet the needs of 100,000 households through a range of social housing programmes. A total of 63,000 new social homes will commence or be acquired during the period of the plan.

Deputy Higgins referred to the pressures and that more may be required but enormous resources are being put into this area and record levels of funding for social and affordable housing are being provided this year. A total of €2.5 billion is available for housing programmes generally, and the Exchequer provision is €1.7 billion, which even in a difficult year, is 16% higher than last year. Similar resources are available for child care and resources for the aged.

I am in complete agreement with Deputy Higgins on his first point, that there is another side to the argument on competitiveness but I cannot agree with his second point. The achievement of social partnership is providing the resources to do things that would not otherwise have been possible if we had continued with the old style of adversarial human resource issues.

About 15 minutes ago the Exchequer figures for the first quarter were published. They show an Exchequer deficit of €354 million recorded for the first quarter of 2008 and that tax revenues to the end of March are €600 million or more than 5% less than the published profile. This obviously represents a very serious turn in the country's public finances. What impact does the Taoiseach think these Exchequer figures will have on the social partnership talks which are due to begin? When does he expect the talks to commence formally and what is the timetable for them? Will he tell the House how it is proposed to address the problem that Deputy Michael D. Higgins has outlined, that the pay element of the last social partnership agreement has been beaten now by inflation and that inflation is running at almost 5%?

On the Exchequer figures, the tax profile was to be 24% and it was 23% so it is very close to target. Income taxes are up by 5%. As I said about the February figures, the capital gains tax is reduced — it is the property development side that is down. This area has been extremely healthy for the past number of years but other tax heads are pulling it up. Like every economy, since the sub-prime issues of last August have affected the economic cycle of the last quarter and into the first quarter, it has become a more challenging position. However, overall, and providing we keep our expenditure for this year on target and we maintain employment as strongly as possible — obviously there is going to be an increase in unemployment and that has been well signalled and profiled, particularly in the construction sector — we should be near enough to our overall targets for this year. It is a challenge.

On inflation, I already mentioned the main factors of oil prices and interest rates feeding in from last year are not within our domestic control. Therefore, we must work hard on those issues over which we have control. We have actively engaged with the social partners on an ongoing basis, including working with the anti-inflation group which has proved to be successful over the past seven or eight years, to examine ways of reducing domestically generated inflation. That examination has informed the contributions from the Central Statistics Office, the Competition Authority, the National Consumer Agency and the Commission for Energy Regulation with a view to establishing remedial action in these areas. We must continue to do that. It is an ongoing task to try to reduce inflation and not something we simply start and then drop.

On Deputy Gilmore's question on when the pay talks will commence, the plenary meeting on 15 February, which was addressed by me and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, provided the basis for the initiation of formal talks, including those relating to the new pay round and the publication of the Employment Law Compliance Bill, which was an important commitment that we honoured. It is a commitment congress viewed as a critical element for the emerging talks. It stated that to us last year and again in February and we honoured that commitment. I understand a number of special conferences, including on the trade union side, will be held in the next few weeks, in approximately ten days time, to enable the parties to debate and improve their negotiations stance. It is therefore likely that the pay talks will commence shortly thereafter. I gave up guessing when they would finish years ago. As Deputy Gilmore will be aware, that has been a prophecy that has not worked too easily. Sometimes the social partners surprise one and the talks finish fairly quickly but on the last occasion, the target date was overshot by several months.

I raise a question concerning companies that made good profits here during the years, that drew down substantial grants from State, that are now relocating elsewhere because of high business costs, taxes and levies imposed by the Government over many years and are effectively throwing their workers on the scrap heap. What action is the Government taking to fight for proper redundancy packages for those workers and to ensure those companies contribute towards the retraining of those workers? The behaviour of such companies is deplorable. They have a duty to contribute to retraining programmes for those workers.

Whenever a company closure occurs the State agencies, namely, Enterprise Ireland, FÁS and others, under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment actively work and usually move to put in place a taskforce strategy to assist redundant workers or workers who will lose their jobs. Companies have obligations and it is true that on many occasions it is left to the State to operate training programmes mainly under FÁS.

The Deputy mentioned grants given to such companies by Enterprise Ireland or the IDA. Thankfully, not that many companies renege on any of the commitments under this area, but negotiations are always entered into with IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland depending on from where the grant was allocated to make sure that the company concerned does not simply use a grant period or a tax period and then abandon the country. Great care is taken by the statutory agencies to guard against that. If the Deputy has a particular example, I suggest he put the case to the Minister, Deputy Martin, as the agencies under his control are usually diligent about making people honour their commitments.

Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.

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