Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Tánaiste for sharing the very limited time available. In that short time I wish to make some key points. All Deputies from Limerick and the mid-west in general have been dealing with the fall-out from the decision by Dell to cut its work force in half by letting go 1,900 employees. It is important to emphasise that 1,000 very high quality jobs remain at Dell which need to be supported. That must be acknowledged.

Every Deputy has dealt with people in the area who have lost their jobs and some of the stories have been very difficult to hear. The people deserve our support. What was the response? Initially, the Tánaiste made every effort to have the jobs retained. She travelled to the United States in an all-out effort to achieve this. It was not possible but she has moved swiftly and decisively to deal with the fall-out from the announcement by Dell. Her initial response in setting up Túsnua gave valuable information and opportunities to those who lost their jobs in the immediate period. She acted decisively in setting up the mid-west task force. She also recognises that there are other parts of the country - including the Border and midlands regions - which have higher rates of unemployment than the mid-west.

See this speech in context