James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The facility in question which manufactures safety and anchor bolts used in the construction industry has been in operation in Killorglin since establishment by Liebig in 1970. In 2008 the business was acquired by Simpson Manufacturing, a California-based manufacturer of metal fixings and hangers used in the construction of wooden frame housing. As a result of the construction downturn in the United States and Europe, Simpson Manufacturing has decided to consolidate its business units and concentrate on the market for traditional products and markets in the timber frame sector. As the Deputy is acutely aware, the construction downturn has meant that the Killorglin facility has been on a three-day week for much of the past three years. At a meeting with the management of Simpson Strongtie on 13 September, IDA Ireland was informed that the US-based parent company had decided to exit the safety bolt market in Europe. The company plans to sell as a going concern its European business interests in this sector, which include the Simpson Strongtie manufacturing plant in Killorglin and a sales, research and development facility in Germany. Management personnel have confirmed that the plant will close by the end of the year, with the loss of 30 jobs, if a sale is not successfully concluded by then. Obviously, this decision is very unsettling for the employees and their families. I know that IDA Ireland will continue to be in contact with the company in the next few months with a view to ensuring the best possible outcome for the Killorglin site and its employees. Staff at the company have been informed of the decision to sell the operation and the consequences if the planned sale is not successful. Management will now begin a formal process of consultation with staff and unions.

On the wider issue, job creation is central to our economic recovery. The programme for Government has job creation at its core. Obviously, the Government does not create jobs; entrepreneurs and successful businesses do. However, the Government has a key role to play in providing an environment in which businesses can start, expand and create jobs.

In the context of that role, the Government implemented a jobs initiative aimed at rebuilding confidence in the economy, providing opportunities for re-skilling for those who had lost their jobs and assisting people to get back to work. Building on the jobs initiative, the action plan for jobs, which was launched earlier this year, aims to transform the operating environment for business in order to support enterprise growth and job creation. The Government will achieve this objective by systematically removing obstacles to competitiveness, putting downward pressure on business costs, promoting innovation and trade, supporting new and existing businesses to develop and expand and deepening the impact of foreign direct investment in Ireland. The Government has also identified in the action plan a number of key sectors where Ireland can gain competitive advantage in global markets.

A major element of the Government's response to tackling unemployment is the Pathways to Work initiative, the aim of which is help ensure that as many of those jobs as possible are filled by people from the live register. The role of the Department is to ensure we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The programmes supported by the Department and its agencies will be critical in achieving economic growth and I know that the agencies - Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the county enterprise boards - will continue to promote Killorglin and the surrounding area for industrial projects and enterprise development. These activities will, in turn, create and protect existing jobs in the area.

I am convinced that the actions we are taking across Government through this process will result in improvements to the operating environment for business and bring about a reduction in the numbers on the live register.

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