Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

No more could have been done. The IDA was in direct contact with the company. As late as January of this year, local management was talking directly to SR Technics about an additional up-skilling programme for workers to try to ensure the company would have a viable future. Local management did not seem to be aware at that stage of the overall plans for the parent company. The IDA, for which I am not here to answer, entered those discussions in good faith. In light of my having made my first contact in 2007, I just warned that if the Aer Lingus contract were lost, jobs could be at risk. There was engagement between the IDA and SR Technics subsequent to that. The IDA was hearing from local management that it wanted to restructure, up-skill the workforce and put the company on a viable footing. The IDA was operating on that basis until January, at which time the news was announced.

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