John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this matter to be raised and I thank the Minister of State for being here.

The decision taken by the company, SP Wine Products Limited, to close its plant in Easkey, County Sligo, is a massive blow to that community. This will be felt in particular in the whole region of west Sligo. The north west has been dealt several severe blows in recent months. Tractech closed its plant in Sligo recently with the loss of 122 jobs and three months ago Hospira closed its plant in Donegal. The loss of so many jobs is a significant blow to the entire region. In Easkey, however, the SP Wine Products decision means that 31 people will lose their jobs, the equivalent of 300 jobs in the greater Dublin area.

This is a close-knit community where the company has operated since 1996. SP Wine Products makes bottle opening devices and tableware and is a subsidiary of Le Creuset, a successful company worldwide. It is never a good time for workers to hear that their employer is packing up and leaving the country, but it is particularly difficult at this time of the year. SP Wine Products is a very important employer for Easkey. I am not sure what the Minister of State can do, but perhaps Enterprise Ireland as well as the special task force for the enterprise boards might be able to encourage the company to reassess the opportunities on offer. I know it is looking at lower cost opportunities elsewhere. It is, perhaps, an indictment of the high cost of jobs in Ireland that companies are locating to lower cost countries. We cannot sit idly by, however, and watch jobs leave. This is a major loss.

This company is the biggest employer in west Sligo. The entire coastal community around Easkey very much welcomed this development in 1996 and it is regrettable that the company no longer finds it profitable to continue employing people in the region.

The high cost of doing business in Ireland is steadily increasing with added stealth taxes. The Government will have to look seriously at the sustainability of manufacturing jobs in the west. Quite a number of manufacturing jobs still exist there and there must be more incentives to encourage employers to remain. SP Wine Products is similar to Tractech, with its competitors moving to low cost manufacturing centres greatly influencing its decision.

I am confident that the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, is aware of the difficulties of small companies since they form the backbone of the successful Irish economy. The loss of jobs in the north west has been quite startling in recent times. Figures released yesterday show that one in four people in the north west is living on the edge of poverty compared to a national average of 19%. The Government must work harder to keep companies in Ireland and we must do more to develop the north west. As regards Enterprise Ireland, the Western Development Commission and all the statutory authorities, hopefully some encouragement will be given as regards incentives towards retention of those jobs in this region.

There are difficulties when it comes to profitability and most companies are driven by the bottom line. The Government is in the business of giving incentives to companies to set up. The high cost base, however, and the competition elsewhere in the world tend to drive the marketplace in a different direction. I hope in light of the Tractech announcement and now SP Wine Products in Easkey, the Minister of State can offer some possibility of a reassessment of the situation. With the involvement of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, perhaps there could be a meeting with the management of the company so that it might be persuaded to reconsider its decision and hold on to those valuable jobs in Easkey.

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