Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies for raising these matters. I appreciate Deputy Cregan's very constructive approach in his opening statement by trying to look for a way forward to see whether we can salvage something from yesterday's pessimistic announcement of the appointment of a liquidator and next month's High Court hearing in the matter.

I thank Deputy Neville for raising it, and appreciate his concerns, but people in general are far more sensible in terms of their appreciation of global forces, competition and the need to work on our existing industries to make them more competitive and to invest. That depends on companies taking decisions as well. Enterprise Ireland is available to assist companies on an ongoing basis to modernise, to change what they are doing and to move in terms of market needs. It is still ready to be of assistance, if necessary, but Deputy Cregan made the point that there seems to be a degree of consolidation involved from west Limerick to other parts of the island, such as Armagh. West Limerick has suffered as a result.

Fundamentally, however, if job losses occur here, it affects the workers involved and their families, as Deputy Cregan and Deputy Neville have said, as well as the community in the surrounding areas. It would be very distressing news for them and I want to assure the people concerned that the relevant State agencies will do everything they possibly can to provide support. The priority in the event of closure will be to find alternative employment at the earliest opportunity for those involved. The role of FÁS, the training agency, will be particularly important in assisting those who are to lose their jobs.

In February 2005, the company announced a restructuring plan which involved a reduction in staff numbers of 150, down from 410 to 260. In May of that year, it confirmed that workers at the company had accepted its redundancy offer by a large majority and at that stage there was talk of further investment. Unfortunately, matters have not improved over the past 18 months. In fact, they have continued to worsen. The current level of profitability in the Irish poultry sector is very low. This is due to a very fierce competitive market and increased volumes of cheaper imports from abroad. Nevertheless, I understand the liquidator will be working closely with the management and other interests over the next few weeks in an effort to find new owners for the enterprise.

Basically, the company has been operating in a very competitive market and has been trading at a loss for a number of years. During this very difficult period, Enterprise Ireland has been in regular contact with the company. Discussions were centred on potential involvement by the agency in the future development of the company. However, despite the best efforts of all concerned, it was not possible to avoid the situation that has been reached. Given its local presence in the area, Shannon Development has moved quickly to assist with efforts to minimise the effect of the closure on west Limerick and the Newcastle West area. Within 24 hours of the public announcement, Shannon Development has arranged a meeting of West Limerick Resources Ltd., a local group in which Shannon Development is an active board member. The group, chaired by Shannon Development and comprised of key local groups in the area has done much valuable work following the closure of Kantoher Poultry Products last year, with the loss of 138 jobs. Together with representatives from Limerick County Enterprise Board and West Limerick Resources Ltd., the agency will meet all public representatives in the area to discuss how Shannon Development can support those affected by the closure. Shannon Development will set up an internal working group to identify opportunities to assist those affected.

As well as these initiatives, Shannon Development will stay in close contact with the Newcastle West Chamber of Commerce, which I recently met with Deputies Cregan and Collins. The most recent live register figures, for August 2006, show a total of 6,327 for Limerick city and 1,006 for Newcastle West. While the figure for Limerick city is down from 6,769 in the corresponding month in 2002, the figure for Newcastle West is up by 79. However, overall figures for Limerick city and county show a decline in the live register from 8,593 in August 2002 to 8,253 in August 2006. There is a churn in employment across the country. Traditional industries are under pressure and are closing, while other industries, especially the service industry, are providing much employment. In the past five or six years, more than 440,000 jobs were created in services and 150,000 in high-end manufacturing. There has been a complete turn around in the nature of employment. Much employment has moved to cities and towns. We have asked the agencies to do what they can for indigenous enterprise and foreign direct investment.

West Limerick in general is well serviced with industry with major companies such as Wyeth, Aughinish Alumina, Kostal, Ballygowan, and Pallas Foods being the major employers in the vicinity of Newcastle West. In 2004, Shannon Development completed the land purchase and business plan for a new business park in Newcastle West. The park is located on a 40-acre site adjoining the town, and infrastructural and servicing work on the first 20 acres is in place. A BES unit, approved by Shannon Development, is now in place on the business park and clients are being sought. Shannon Development has sold three sites to industrial companies and construction on these sites should commence by the end of this year. In addition to these developments already under way, Shannon Development has solid inquiries on its books regarding site purchases for the business park. These developments will help strengthen the industrial base of the Newcastle West area.

A central goal for the industrial development agencies is the achievement of balanced regional development. The attractiveness of Limerick lies in its position as a regional gateway, with a critical mass and infrastructure necessary to attract mobile investment to the region. The Government and the agencies recognise the need to provide high volume employment opportunities in Limerick that result in sustainable long-term jobs. The strategies adopted have proved successful to date despite a competitive and ever-changing global economy. It is disappointing to see job losses in the poultry sector, but Limerick has a strong base of foreign direct investment jobs. The most recent figures available — for December 2005 — show that there are 38 overseas companies employing more than 8,500 people in permanent jobs and a further 1,500 in temporary and contract employment. Most of these 10,000 jobs are in the city environs but as a result of the job losses in the company concerned, I am confident the State development agencies will strengthen their marketing and promotion efforts in the region and will make every effort to secure alternative employment for the area. This will be done in partnership with other key players to maximise the flow of potential investors for the area and to convert these into investment and job opportunities.

I assure the Deputies that we will do everything we can to assist the workers concerned by matching them with jobs created in the locality. We will get the industrial agencies to move to attract the new industry and to create indigenous industry in the area.

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