Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have with me the document sent by the Communications Workers' Union, CWU, headquarters and it confirms one centre is going to close, so I agree with the Minister on that. As I said, however, there are rumours in Cork. There are three centres at Athlone, Portlaoise and Dublin, and one will possibly be taken out of Cork - that is the possibility for Ireland south. Cork is a huge county. It beggars belief, if we are to have a sustainable model that covers the four parts of the country, that we would not have a centre in each part of the country.

Another worrying thing I have been told by staff in the other centres, and I have no problem saying this, is that those other centres have been actively lobbying their politicians for a number of months, whereas Cork only received the news last week. My fear is that the unions would have known about this months ago. Why cannot all their members get a fair crack at lobbying and standing up for what they believe is right, fair and just? One of the quotes from the CWU was that it would write to representatives in Cork not to engage with politicians at the present time, which is worrying.

This is 200 jobs in County Cork. It is a very big county and we actually have our own passport, whether the Minister knows it or not. I am disappointed. Maybe it is not the Minister's fault but I am trying to get answers for employees and families just before Christmas. Nobody is giving me an answer as to what is going to happen with regard to 200 jobs in this centre, plus the knock-on jobs. The Minister is saying he does not know what is happening. I would appreciate if we could get a concrete answer and some assurance for the staff before Christmas.

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