Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State said it was regrettable that 107 jobs would be lost at PWAI and 408 at Lufthansa and that both he and the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, appreciated that these closures would have a devastating impact on employees and their families. That is an understatement. Many of the employees and their families are probably listening to this discussion and were under the impression that the jobs were still there. The Minister of State has just announced that they are gone. I hope something will be pulled out of the hat. The staff were informed by management last Friday that there was a 30 day window and were asked to come back with plans and suggestions. That is what is happening today is about. We are looking to the Government to come up with new ideas and suggestions. However, the Minister of State seems to have said the jobs are gone. That is not the message people want to hear. Perhaps I picked up on him wrong. This will be devastating not only for the employees and their families but also for the entire area. It is not one in which there is a huge amount of jobs. It has been devastated by unemployment and has some of the highest unemployment rates in the country. There is very little in what the Minister of State has said we can take back to local people. What can we say to them? Is the Minister of State saying there is nothing we can do?

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