Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
562. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps he is taking to mitigate the scale of job losses at a site (details supplied) in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17311/13]
View answerThis company currently employs 420 people in its facility in Athlone. After a review of its operations, following a reduction in demand for the company's products, they have indicated that they expect to reduce the number of staff there by approximately 100 - 130. This is expected to take place over a two-year period, as older, non-commercial product lines are phased out.
The company will begin a consultation process with employees immediately and is committed to working with them during this period of transition. They anticipate that the reduction in staff numbers will be achieved through a combination of natural attrition, voluntary redundancy and compulsory redundancy. The company has stated that the Athlone plant will continue to play a strategic part in their future business, and the facility will remain strategically important to the company’s global development and manufacturing network.
IDA Ireland will remain in close contact with the company over the coming months. I have asked all the State agencies under my remit to continue to promote Athlone and the wider region for new industrial projects and enterprise development.
It is of course very disappointing when redundancies such as these occur, arising due to changes in circumstances facing individual companies. However, I would emphasise that job creation is central to this Government’s plans for economic recovery and the Programme for Government has job creation at its core. The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The programmes supported by my Department and its agencies will be critical in achieving economic growth through promoting the export potential of enterprise in Ireland and driving our economy. The Action Plan for Jobs 2013 is crucial for this work, and it builds on the successful 2012 Plan, where we achieved considerable progress on a wide range of Actions and we are confident that this momentum will be maintained.
