Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

Our first thoughts this evening are with the 245 staff in Abbott in Clonmel who have just heard the devastating news of job losses this afternoon. I ask the Minister to intervene personally to ensure the staff affected get a good financial package, the required training and upskilling to enable them to take up future employment, to intervene with the company - which is a large one that has a large number of workers remaining on the site - to ensure its continued commitment to the site and to replace the jobs that are being lost with new initiatives and developments at the site. As the Minister will know, Abbott is a significant employer and flagship industry for the country and beyond it.

In view of the closure of Kickham Barracks, St. Michael's psychiatric unit, other closures in the area and these job losses announced this afternoon, I ask the Minister to establish a task force to prioritise employment for the south Tipperary area. As the Minister will be aware, the area has been hit by significant levels of unemployment during the years, with the number unemployed rising from 3,524 in 2008 to 9,173 today, almost a trebling of the figures. I hope the Minister will intervene in respect of the job losses at Abbott, as I have requested, and establish a task force to prioritise employment for the county as a result of this news this afternoon.

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