Vol. 704 No. 3
46 Deputy Jimmy Deenihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has had any further discussion with an airline (details supplied) in the past week regarding its proposal to provide 300 aircraft maintenance jobs at Dublin Airport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11284/10]
My most recent contacts with Ryanair were a meeting I had with its chief executive officer, Mr. Michael O'Leary, on Tuesday 16 February, followed by a letter I wrote to Mr. O'Leary on 18 February and letters I received from him on 19 February and 25 February.
Mr. O'Leary also responded on 19 February to a letter of 18 February from Shannon Development, one of the agencies under the aegis of my Department, which offered Ryanair the opportunity to consider locating aircraft maintenance operations in Shannon if it was not satisfied with the options on offer at Dublin Airport.
When SR Technics announced it was withdrawing from maintenance operations in Dublin Airport, as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I stressed to all parties that I would very much welcome if the buildings and machinery used in the SRT operation could remain available for maintenance operations. This appeared the best way of securing jobs for ex-SRT workers and maintaining industrial employment of the type promoted by my Department and its agencies at Dublin Airport.
With this in mind, a process to hear and consider expressions of interest from any parties interested in continuing maintenance operations at the site was put in place and operated by IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. A number of developments have since occurred. Dublin Aerospace has commenced operations, with 70 employees initially recruited, to operate a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility; the company expects the number of jobs to grow to 226. The garage business unit of SR Technics has been taken over by the M50 Truck and Van Centre, which was successful in securing the airside vehicle maintenance contract from SR Technics. Aer Lingus has decided to undertake, with the transfer of a number of employees, line maintenance operations previously contracted to SRT.
Ryanair's interest in carrying out heavy maintenance operations, initially aiming to employ 500 and more recently 300, was always based on a proposal to carry out this work in hangar 6, which it regarded as the only suitable building among the six hangars for maintenance of this type.
As matters progressed, I was informed by the DAA, Aer Lingus and the Department of Transport that hangar 6 continued to be occupied by maintenance operations carried out on Aer Lingus aircraft, that Aer Lingus continued to hold legal rights to have its maintenance carried out in this hangar and that Aer Lingus had indicated that it wished to continue to avail of this. This position has been reiterated recently and the Government has received legal advice that there is no legal means by which either the Government or the DAA can secure hangar 6 for the Ryanair project in circumstances where Aer Lingus continues to exercise its legal rights to remain in the hangar.
In my recent exchanges with Ryanair, I have emphasised that the Government remains anxious, in any way that is open to it, to facilitate Ryanair to deliver its proposal on 300 jobs. This can still be facilitated through existing hangar space in Dublin Airport or through an entirely new hangar at Dublin or Shannon Airport built to Ryanair's requirements. Temporary facilities are, if appropriate, available in a short time-scale in Dublin or Shannon to facilitate maintenance operations while more permanent accommodation is being finalised. Mr O'Leary has, however, also confirmed that he is only interested in establishing a maintenance facility in hangar 6 in Dublin.
Today is another black day for Ireland, for jobs and for the aviation industry. Earlier today, Michael O'Leary confirmed that the jobs had been lost to Dublin.
I have reviewed the documents and read all the letters. Having looked at them, on reflection it appears there was an opportunity to bring either 500 or 300 aviation jobs to Dublin.
That is not what the Deputy was saying a few weeks ago.
That opportunity existed about nine months ago when SRT gave up its lease for the hangar. If at that time the DAA had acted fairly and if Ryanair had been talking to the DAA and, in particular, if the Tánaiste had been reading her mail and had taken an active role, those jobs could have been secured for Dublin and the SR Technics workers who lost their jobs, their pensions, their hope and their dignity would now have a prospect of employment. Is it not the case that the Tánaiste took her eye off the ball, adopted a hands-off approach and, as a result of her bungling and incompetence, we have lost 300 good, well paid jobs?
I refute that remark. The work of the committee last week indicated that Aer Lingus required hangar 6 and that Mr. O'Leary was only interested in hangar 6 in the provision of these jobs. It is also important to say that Ryanair received legal advice well before SRT decided to move from here, indicating that hangar 6 would be hugely complicated. When Aer Rianta established TEAM Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus would continue to have a say in the hangar 6 issue regardless.
It is also true that, on my behalf, Mr. Barry O'Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland, advised Mr. Michael O'Leary at that time that when SRT was leaving the country, it would be prudent, appropriate and correct to contact the DAA to ascertain whether access to hangar 6 could be obtained at that time. He did not take up that advice.
It is also important to say that the Government, I as the Minister, working with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, and the DAA have provided many opportunities to Mr. O'Leary for the provision of jobs by Ryanair through the availability of existing hangar space, either on a temporary or long-term basis, the provision of a site where Mr. O'Leary could buy and build his own hangar, or where the DAA would provide that hangar for his requirements and that Shannon Airport would provide similar facilities. We are being fair and reasonable but Mr. O'Leary has not been in a position to take up those offers.
I accept there are significant and complex legal issues involved. The Tánaiste made offers of alternatives to Michael O'Leary. He comes from the same county as me and it appears that he got impatient with pendulum-style politics, the Tweedledum, Tweedledee facilitation that Aer Lingus had to be accommodated at all times while the DAA had an interest. The interest of the 300 or 500 jobs was lost in the maelstrom. Now the jobs are definitely lost, is there any lesson to be taken from the debacle to ensure it will never recur? Foreign countries must be treating us as a laughing stock.
I have some sympathy with the position the Tánaiste found herself in. Has there been any progress with access to the European globalisation fund for those SRT workers who want to up-skill? The Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, has been working as hard as he possibly can on the issue but an update from the Tánaiste on the fund would be welcome.
Coalition is on the way.
In the negotiations with Mr. O'Leary, what was the timeframe for having the place ready so the jobs could start? Was there an issue with potential planning delays? Was the Tánaiste in a position to guarantee that the hangar could be dealt with under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act?
It was almost two years ago that SRT management came to me indicating grave concerns about the viability of the company. Through Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, I supported the organisation but unfortunately the new CEO and the board decided not to continue in Dublin. We then worked with all interested people to ensure replacement jobs were created. I personally worked closely with Dublin Aerospace and the management group that approached me for support in establishing a new maintenance operation. We had a number of smaller successes and I am glad that last week the DAA was in a position to sign another contract for 123 jobs in Dublin Airport. There has been considerable work done and many of those who were working with SRT will have the capacity to be employed there. I have been working vociferously and personally on a number of occasions and I have used my political position as Tánaiste in working with the Government of Abu Dhabi to ensure we had access and could deal with the requirements of Dublin Aerospace.
With regard to the European globalisation fund, the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, met the Commissioner yesterday to discuss the matter. We had to submit complicated responses to the Commission and I hope to meet the Commissioner myself with the Minister of State to pursue the matter as vigorously and as expeditiously as humanly possible.
What about planning permission? What was the timeframe involved?
The timeframe would be similar to the timeframe the Scottish Government was in a position to give. I indicated that Fingal County Council was more than helpful when facilitating others that came to the airport and I expected the same for Ryanair. In the interim, to allow for immediate start-up, we offered the existing hangars as a short or long-term measure.
47 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of labour inspectors employed by the National Employment Rights Authority; the number of labour inspectors available for assignment on normal duties; the number of labour inspectors in training following recruitment; the position regarding the recruitment campaign to increase the labour inspectorate to 90 inspectors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11389/10]
The National Employment Rights Authority was established on an interim basis in February 2007. NERA has the following three functional areas: the communications and strategic services unit, which operates an information service on employment rights legislation and promotes an awareness of employment rights; the inspection services unit, which is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with certain employment conditions for all categories of workers in Ireland, including migrant workers; and the legal services unit, which amongst other things deals with the enforcement of awards by the Labour Court and the Employment Appeals Tribunal through the courts and prosecutes cases on behalf of the inspection services in situations where employers fail to comply with certain employment rights legislation.
NERA currently has 116 staff across five locations, including a team of 69 inspectors. These inspectors are all available for assignment to inspection duties. No inspector is currently in training. Since NERA's establishment, 22 inspectors have left as a result of promotion or internal and external departmental transfers and re-assignments and this has brought the number of inspectors to its current level of 69. The moratorium on recruitment and promotions in the public service has had an impact on NERA in common with all other public bodies.
Providing value for money is a key focus of NERA's operations. In much of its activity in 2009, it managed to increase or maintain service levels despite reduced resources. Its telephone information service provided information to more than 150,000 people in 2009, an increase of over 30% on the 2008 figure. Approximately 129,500 calls were dealt with directly by NERA's experienced information officers and the agency's website, www.employmentrights.ie, recorded more than 1.5 million webpage impressions during 2009. NERA has also played in important role in addressing the backlog in my Department’s redundancy payments section.
Would the Minister of State not agree that the moratorium is having an impact? We were worn out by the talk of the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and former Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, on the 90 inspectors but we still have not reached that target due to the moratorium.
Does the Minister of State agree that NERA should solely focus on significant breaches of compliance and that it should assist employers to remedy relatively minor issues? Where an employer and an employee have reached a mutual and fair understanding regarding employment issues, due cognizance should be afforded to such agreements by inspectors. Too often, however, a sledge-hammer is used to crack a nut. While all of us would ascribe to the idea that employment legislation exists to protect employees, if a fair understanding is reached between employer and employees there is little point in having NERA issue threats of closure or demands for back pay. Compromises may have been reached in regard to days off in order to facilitate part-time workers in particular. I hope NERA and other agencies take cognizance of our new economic circumstances.
I concur with Deputy Penrose. We are at present amending the law by way of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009 and I will take the Deputy's comments as an indication of support.
I have never been found wanting when the proposition is reasonable.
The Deputy is tuning up for coalition.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
