I move amendment No. 2:
To delete all words after "Galway" and to substitute the following:
"which is so crucial to the economic welfare of the west; and urges a sustained and united national effort to ensure the retention of the company's full operations in Galway".
I was proud to be a member of the 1969-73 Government which approved the first grant for Digital, and which brought this computer manufacturing industry into my constituency. Subsequently, I was present at the signing of the contract, when there were only four individuals locally employed by Digital in the Galway Industrial Estate. In the intervening 22 years, I have seen this factory grow to enormous proportions. It now has a major influence on the economics of my native city, Galway, and its surrounding regions.
I am aware of the changes in the computer industry over the past year and of the threat posed to our computer factory in Galway. I was in close contact with the then Minister for Industry and Commerce, Deputy O'Malley, who went to Boston to discuss this threat with the chief executive of Digital but, as the House knows, the Progressive Democrats left office in November.
Because the situation facing Digital is so serious, not only for its 1,200 direct employees and the 1,300 in the sub-supply sector, but for the economy of both Galway and the west, we undertake this debate in a sombre and fearful mood. Nor would the disastrous social and economic consequences stop there if the plant were to close or have its workforce drastically reduced. Digital is a flagship of the Irish electronics industry, and our status as a viable location for this industry would be adversely affected.
The atmosphere in Galway is currently one of grim foreboding, with fearing the worst, while praying for a reprieve.
The tragedy of what is, and what could happen, is almost too awful to contemplate. Digital is a model company and employer, who have grown with, and generated much of the increased prosperity of Galway over the past 20 years.
Digital has been good to Galway, but Galway has also been good to the company. It has made good profits there down the years, based on the commitment and skill of a dedicated and hard-working staff who exude a pride in their work and are the face of the new resilient, self-confident, and well-educated Ireland.
It would be heartbreaking if all this was to disintegrate now, especially when it may arise for no factor for which the workforce could be held responsible.
If Digital-Galway is to be decimated, it will be due to factors beyond the control of the staff there. For that reason, it simply cannot be allowed to happen.
The staff of Digital-Galway and all those in the immediate area, including public representatives of all parties, are united in seeking to ensure the survival of the entire operation. Moreover, they are determined not to do anything that may stop this from happening.
That is why the Progressive Democrats and I cannot, at this juncture, support the full terms of the Fine Gael motion. This would divide and dissipate the united effort, at both a national and a local level, which is essential in the battle to save the factory.
There will be plenty of time for political recriminations and they will be justified, if this awful event comes to pass. But, in the meantime, the Progressive Democrats strongly believe that all parties should maintain a united national front so as to optimise the pressure on Digital headquarters in Boston, for retaining their full operations in Galway.
For that reason, my party colleagues, Deputies O'Malley and Cullen and I, tabled the amendment which expresses grave concern at the threat to the Digital plant in Galway.
Digital is not considering pulling out of Galway because of the performance levels there. Galway has, and is represented as the model plant in the corporation worldwide. The complexity of product set and the quality levels made it the number one choice for supply managers. It is these managers who have responsibility for deciding what plants build specific modules or products.
Galway is currently responsible for manufacturing Digital's most complex and progressive product, the Turbo Laser. This is regarded by the Digital Corporation as a prime revenue generator and should help secure their future. Galway was chosen because of its capability in manufacturing quality and complex products. Galway engineers have, and are, playing a major part in the development of this and other products.
The plant also has the capacity — and is currently performing at this level — to place 200 million components per annum, whereas the Ayr facility in Scotland has only got the annual capability to place 64 million components. The Galway product set is also in the higher edge of the technology scale, whereas Ayr operates mostly on lower technology products.
It also supplies the Stowage module set to its sister plant in Germany. The Ayr plant does not have the capability to do this. Galway beat competition for this set from the Far East — renowned for its cost effectiveness — when the key metrics were quality and cost.
Last week, Digital-Galway was commended for its excellent performance in its supply of network and communication products. It outperformed the Digital-Augusta plant in Maine, USA in the key areas — its delivery, cost and quality.
It also took on the work of plants that have closed, such as the Puerto Rican plant in 1992 and the Clonmel plant in 1991. It got this business because the corporation had confidence in Galway.
During the last quarter, the plant has reduced its manufacturing cost by 40 per cent in cost per placement, and is well positioned to strongly challenge the Far-Eastern plants by July 1993.
A compatible product set produced by the Ayr plant, shows that Galway is outperforming them by 200 per cent in cost terms.
The supply manager for the Corporation visited Galway two weeks ago to meet plant staff and review its capability. She made it known that she was exceptionally pleased with its current efforts and future expansion capability. She did not even visit the Ayr plant. She saw Galway as the European plant.
Galway has a totally integrated manufacturing system. It has the ability to design, build, test modules and put them into a system under one roof and provide the software neccesary. No other Digital site in the corporation has this capability.
Up to last week, expectations from within the plant, and communications from outside, including Digital Corporate headquarters, was strongly in favour of Galway as opposed to the Ayr plant. Some employees even suggested today that they would be willing to take a cut in wages to save their jobs. They could not have done much more than this to survive. Political action, including inducements over and above what is morally acceptable, have intervened to change the agreement in favour of the Ayr plant. I hope the Minister had the authority yesterday when he travelled to the United States to change this situation which should never have been allowed to develop. I wish to share my time with Deputies O'Malley and Cullen.