Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his understanding of the importance of this issue which is devastating for those concerned, but I will not go into that because we are short of time. Some important meetings were held yesterday and today. I am conscious that the Minister of State's reply has been worked on since this morning. Is there any update on yesterday's meetings, mainly with the employees? What information are they getting? We hope many of these jobs can be saved.

I urge the Minister of State and the Minister to meet the family. I know the IDA is doing that but I urge the Minister to do so to prove how important these jobs are to the country, the area and the Government.

I believe the factory in Ukraine is unable to function without the Collinstown plant working. Will the Minister of State confirm that? Is there a danger that things are moving quietly along? The employees understand that one cannot work without the other and we would not like to find out further down the line that this is not the case.

The factory in Collinstown is similar to NEC in Ballivor. Such factories are very important and are the heart of villages in Westmeath and south Meath, which are not built up. There is a danger that some of these jobs might be permanently lost. We must try to replace them with new jobs. I am conscious that many of the IDA visits are to bigger areas such as Mullingar, Dundalk and Drogheda. If there are existing factories and premises and if jobs are being lost, a real effort should be made by the IDA to replace these jobs in those locations to give villages, small shops and post offices a chance to survive. NEC did not receive any visits from the IDA last year. I do not want that to happen in Collinstown. If any of these jobs are lost, we will need a strategy to replace them or to locate a new enterprise there.

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