Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for taking this discussion. It is important that he has allowed four of us to speak.

First, my thoughts are with the workers and their families. It is a stressful time for them, some of whom are struggling with mortgages and the daily bills they will have to pay. I spoke to a number of those workers today and they are shattered by the reality of what has hit them with the number of job losses.

Whereas HP Inc. announced in October that it would be cutting 3,000 to 4,000 jobs globally over the next three years, nobody expected that 500 workers would be told today that they will lose their jobs in Leixlip. The scale of job losses announced today has been truly shocking.

The loss of these 500 jobs at the HP Inc. factory in Leixlip will be a major devastating blow, not only to the town but to the surrounding area of Kildare and in west Dublin where many of the workers also live. The area needs to be given priority by IDA Ireland. Education and training courses should be made available for the workforce to help them to find alternative employment.

HP, as the Minister will be aware, has been a major employer in Leixlip since 1995. The loss of these jobs will clearly be a major blow to that area. The site remains and it must be used for alternative employment.

Since HP announced it would be cutting 3,000 to 4,000 jobs globally over the next three years, questions must be asked about what has happened in the intervening period. As the company has clearly stated that it will invest in new market opportunities, we need to know today from the Minister where the jobs are going to? It is also critical that new investment is secured for this area.

The company has also indicated that jobs will be transferred abroad. If possible - I do not see why not - we should start to access the EU globalisation fund as early as possible. The Minister must ensure that the particular opportunity of funding from the EU globalisation fund is not wasted, as was the case with previous large-scale job losses in the State. My city of Limerick is a case in point, where we experienced a devastating loss of jobs in Dell in 2009. It was a textbook case of how it should not be done. If funding is accessible, the Minister should start leveraging it today.

Those who have lost their jobs must be given access to proper education and training courses to help them find alternative employment. It is clearly a stressful time for them and their families, as many will struggle to pay their mortgages and pay their daily bills.

I want specifically to ask the Minister if she briefed Cabinet on the expected scale of losses because some of her Cabinet colleagues seem to be in shock at the number of jobs losses that have been announced today. Rumour was floating around for a number of weeks or months or, as Deputy Lawless referred to, probably longer, that these jobs were precarious and they could be lost. I want to know did the Minister raise this at Cabinet. Did the Minister raise it at the Cabinet meeting this week? When has she raised it at Cabinet?

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