Vol. 534 No. 2
59 Mr. D. Carey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the fact that a company (details supplied) in County Clare has given notice to its employees that it will cease business in May 2001 due to costs here; if she has examined the reasons for the lack of competitiveness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10268/01]
The company, which has been in Ennis since 1962, announced the closure of its Irish manufacturing operation on 28 March 2001. The closure will be effective from the end of May 2001 with the loss of 85 jobs out of the current employment level of 87 jobs. The remaining two employees are sales representatives who will continue to service the Irish market.
The company stated that the decision to close is a direct result of a non-competitive cost base in Ireland compared to more cost effective production within the group's other facilities in Malta and China. An additional factor is the impact generated by low cost competitors in a competitive worldwide market place.
Lower cost economies have a certain labour cost advantage over Ireland and other European countries. Many of the recently announced major job losses in overseas owned plants in Ireland arose from restructuring, with activities at the lower end of the value added chain being phased out as they become uneconomic to carry out here.
