Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

The news of the likely closure of the Motorola plant with the loss of more than 300 jobs will represent an economic body blow to the Cork area. These are not old-style jobs in heavy industry, but jobs based in the knowledge economy. During his visit to Cork last week with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Taoiseach lauded the knowledge economy as the cornerstone of the new Ireland. The knowledge economy is an area that has contributed very significantly to Ireland's economic growth over the past 15 years. This is part of an increasing pattern we have seen in the Cork area, with companies like this choosing to relocate to Asia or other regions where labour and other costs are lower. There are very few companies of similar size and skill requirements in Cork and it is likely that those who are about to lose their jobs will need to move elsewhere to look for jobs of a similar nature. This will worsen the economic consequences of the loss of such a plant.

The real tragedy is that I understand the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, had warnings since the beginning of the year from a number of sources that the plant was in jeopardy, but he appears to have done nothing. It would appear that Motorola decided to put all its work out to tender and its plants around the world tendered for different projects. It would appear that the project work being done by Motorola in Cork will go to Malaysia. The company in Malaysia put together a package which included incentives, labour costs, tax and all the other things we normally offer and it won out.

The Minister was told from an early date that the plant had a difficulty. Although he was contacted on several occasions by employees and other outside interested agencies, he did nothing. He did the usual, replying that the query would be dealt with. However, it was not dealt with. Nobody approached Motorola to ask how we could put together a package to ensure that Motorola stayed in Cork and save these jobs. There is now a severe threat to these jobs. These people with highly skilled high-tech jobs will move on. Dublin is the centre for high-tech jobs in Ireland and we will not be able to keep these people in Cork, which has nothing to keep them there.

I call on the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to take immediate action in response to this news. I hope it is not too late. The Minister should have done something much sooner. He must be pro-active in ensuring that job losses are kept to an absolute minimum. He should have taken action at the start of January. It emerged in recent days that the company, as part of a consortium, was awarded preferred bidder status for a massive €250 million Government contract. The contract relates to the construction of a secure national digital radio network to be used by the Garda and other emergency services, which is urgently needed. The timing of that announcement was of no help to the company. If it ultimately gets the contract I wonder where these items will now be manufactured.

I would like to read into the record a letter sent to the Minister on 4 January which states:

I was wondering if you are aware that Motorola Ireland, in Cork is on the verge of closing down? [The employees have told me that] they do not have any projects to work on for the last few months.

Most of their existing work has been transferred to Motorola units in Asia and it is common perception amongst the employees that complete closure will be announced within the next month.

As you know, Motorola is one of the largest private sector employers in Cork, particularly in the IT sector. Most people who were laid off in the jobs cuts in Motorola Ireland last year have not found jobs in Cork and have had to move to Dublin, because most IT jobs in Ireland are in Dublin. Consequently, the closure of Motorola would be a devastating blow to Cork, not just for the jobs themselves, but also about the sustainability of Cork as a centre for IT development.

In light of the above facts, I would like to know what steps the Minister is taking to prevent the closure of Motorola.

That is what we want to know tonight. What steps did the Minister take? It would appear that he took none because the letter received the standard reply stating:

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your recent letter to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr. Micheál Martin TD, regarding your concerns over the possible closure of Motorola Ireland Cork. I will bring your correspondence to the Minister's attention at the earliest possible opportunity.

Following this correspondence, there were numerous phone calls, letters and e-mails. There was no response from the Minister.

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