David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee and the Chairman for allowing us to raise the issue and to put questions to the Minister. He has acknowledged that the Government stands ready to support the workforce and the company in finding a resolution to what is a difficult set of ongoing negotiations. We all want those negotiations to go well and for the best possible outcome for all 1,100 staff at the plant in Waterford.

I have a number of questions for the Minister. He may be able to outline what practical supports the State can give to support job retention and to deal with the reductions in wages proposed by the company unilaterally two weeks ago. We have heard from IDA Ireland about the supports it can provide. Some of the comments from the chief executive officer of IDA Ireland have been very unhelpful to the negotiations. What tangible, practical supports can the Government put on the table to support and retain jobs in Bausch and Lomb in Waterford?

There seems to be a view that whatever supports the Government will put on the table when the timing is right are separate from the ongoing discussions about the saving of €20 million which is to be achieved with the 200 redundancies and the 20% pay cut for the remaining 900 staff, which everyone regards as unsustainable. Why is no Government support being considered to minimise the job losses and those pay cuts? I am sure the Minister will agree that they would be unsustainable for those workers and that the job losses of any degree would be a disaster for Waterford.

The Waterford economy has very high levels of unemployment. The Minister's backbenchers will have informed him of the widespread anger about the high levels of unemployment in Waterford city and the frustration caused by Government promises which have not been delivered upon. I remind the Minister that this committee recently published a report on the south east economic development strategy which put forward practical realistic proposals and a number of high level interventions by the Government to create a level playing field for the region. Regional aid and a university for the south east were two proposals. It is a real frustration in Waterford that we do not have an IDA Ireland regional office with an IDA Ireland regional director based in Waterford acting on behalf of the south east and working to an overall regional strategy similar to that published by this committee. I ask the Minister to outline the tangible actions by the Government and what future actions will be put in place to help create and sustain jobs in Waterford generally because the anger is huge and genuine and understandable given that the levels of unemployment are so high.

What people want is action. They want the Minister with responsibility for jobs and enterprise to act decisively. What specifically will the Minister and his Department do to support Bausch and Lomb and its workers and, in general, job creation in Waterford city and county, as well as the south east?

It would be useful if the Minister could come back to the committee to discuss the Forfás report and the south east action plan that he published, as well as the committee’s SEEDS, the south-east economic development strategy 2013-2023, report. We spoke earlier about regional development. There is a significant problem in the south east which can only be addressed with political will and high-level interventions for the region, Waterford city and county.