Vol. 529 No. 4
50 Mr. Bell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of redundancies or job losses notified to her Department during 2000 and to date in 2001; the steps being taken to secure alternative employment in areas affected by announcements of job losses in recent weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2992/01]
A total of 13,271 proposed redundancies were notified to my Department in the year 2000 under the Redundancy Payment Acts, 1967 to 1991. A further 1,310 proposed redundancies were notified during January 2001.
Many of the recently announced major job losses in overseas owned plants in Ireland are arising from restructuring, with activities at the lower end of the value added chain being phased out as they become uneconomic.
IDA Ireland's strategy is to encourage Irish plants of global companies to move up the value added chain into higher skilled and better paid jobs, thus enhancing their international competitiveness and employment. In this context also, a major part of IDA efforts is focused on embedding existing overseas owned companies more firmly in the economy with a view to having strategically independent operations in Ireland within their corporate structures worldwide.
IDA Ireland and other State agencies are intensifying their efforts to attract replacement projects to areas affected by major job losses and to assist the development and expansion of existing industry in those areas. Every effort is being made to assist the workers affected to find alternative employment and to provide retraining, where appropriate, to enhance employment prospects.
