Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Crowe and I have already explained to the Government the central importance of these sites to the economy of the entire region. Thankfully, the Government listened and decided last August to provide funding to enable the sites to remain open. What is quite mysterious to me is the fact that the Government decided to allocate €2.4 million to keep those sites open but it has only been able to spend €700,000, which is about one quarter of what was originally allocated, for reasons that I do not have time to go into this evening. Seeing as there is €1.7 million unallocated, as it were, surely resources are available to the Government to keep those sites open and to preserve continuity of service on those sites which have acquired iconic status.

The Government must also be cognisant of the situation facing the workers at Shannon Heritage. Up until August, the prospect of being thrown on the unemployment scrapheap was hanging over their heads but due to political intervention, they got a reprieve. Now they are being told that come 30 December, the reprieve ends and the prospect of unemployment again looms large. Surely it would be better to have those people employed, providing a service and maintaining continuity on those sites rather than sitting at home, existing on social welfare payments. Where is the saving to the State in that? Those workers regard their jobs as a vocation more than a job and they are being treated in a very shabby way. I appeal to the Minister to give those workers some solace as the Christmas period approaches. I ask him to give them a reassurance that they will not be thrown onto the unemployment scrapheap in January and that the service being provided by Shannon Heritage at those sites will continue.

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