I share the Deputy’s concern in relation to the recent developments at that company, where job losses were announced last month. IDA Ireland is engaging with the company so that it can develop a skills profile of the affected workers and will aim to match them with other potential employers.
I have asked both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to redouble their efforts to secure new projects and expand existing operations in Cavan, and to explore all opportunities to replace the jobs being lost there. Enterprise Ireland’s job creation work in County Cavan has been particularly successful in recent years with 300 and 190 net new jobs added in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
In addition, the Local Enterprise Office in the County has been working to develop the micro-enterprise sector in Cavan and has helped to develop start up enterprises. That work will also continue.
The Regional Action Plan for Jobs for the North East and North West is now in place and will be a key instrument in driving job creation in the region. That Plan aims to increase employment in the region by 10-15% over the period to 2020, resulting in the delivery of 28,000 additional jobs to the region.
