John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, who has had to leave for the airport. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. There are currently close to 1,400 people employed at Abbott's vascular manufacturing facility at Clonmel. Approximately 150 of these workers are temporary employees whose contracts are due to expire at the end of November 2012. These are the employees whom Abbott acknowledges will leave the company as planned and will be made redundant at the end of the year. These temporary staff were employed by the company to support a product launch and it was never envisaged that they would be made permanent.

Abbott's headquarters is in California. The company began operations in Ireland in 1946. It currently has eight manufacturing and five corporate services operations in this country. It produces a range of products for a variety of markets such as diagnostics, medical devices, pharmaceutical, diabetes, ophthalmic and nutrition. Six of its manufacturing operations are located in the BMW region. Abbott is one of the largest medical technologies firms in Ireland, employing approximately 3,700 people, with 1,400 permanent staff in Clonmel. Continuous investment by the company in Ireland has maintained manufacturing operations for over 35 years. The Clonmel plant manufactures a broad range of vascular devices but mainly stent delivery systems. IDA Ireland is actively engaged with the company in an effort to keep updating the portfolio of products produced in Clonmel. IDA Ireland is in discussions with Abbott Vascular in California and in Clonmel on future additional mandates for the facility. As with all new products, timelines for their introduction are dependent on market demand. The local management at Clonmel are determined to maintain employment at current levels.

In addition to IDA Ireland's ongoing contact with the company, the Minister has arranged to meet with a senior executive from Abbott in the next few days to hear about the company's future plans for its Irish locations including Clonmel. The south economic region currently has 207 client companies employing more than 38,000 in total; the mid-west economic region has 57 IDA client companies employing over 18,100 in total; the south Tipperary region has nine IDA supported companies employing approximately 3,400 people. IDA Ireland will continue to compete vigorously for investments in order to further economic development of the south and mid-west economic regions of which County Tipperary is part.

On the wider issue of job creation, I am aware of the local media reports that Abbott plans 300 redundancies in its Clonmel plant but we are reassured that these are exaggerated reports and that the numbers affected will be 150 temporary positions. I am confident that IDA Ireland will continue to work closely with the company management. A major element of the Government's response to unemployment is the pathways to work initiative with the aim of helping to ensure that as many jobs as possible are filled by people who are on the live register.

The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the correct policies in place to support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. Abbott is a significant foreign direct investment in Ireland. The company will continue to research and develop new products. The Minister will meet the management team and he is fully aware of the concerns expressed by the Deputies. The company is critical to the local economy and I have no doubt this will be foremost in the mind of the Minister. Abbott is also a major employer in Sligo and I am confident this will continue to be the case in Clonmel.

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