Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

Obviously the redundancy figures are shocking. Each of these lost jobs costs the State at least €20,000. It is very important that the State stands in solidarity with those individuals under threat and also the businesses which for business reasons feel forced to let those individuals go. These are often very highly skilled individuals with great experience and knowledge who could act as a tremendous resource for new business generation. Would the Minister consider a system whereby these individuals could act as mentors to start-up businesses either in a voluntary capacity or supported in some way through the enterprise development agencies?

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