Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is correct that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform awarded €2.6 million to keep the sites from closing last August. However, it subsequently transpired that the net figure in terms of meeting operational costs and averting closure from August to December was €550,000. If these sites were closed again in January, it would cost the State in the region of €1 million to keep the employees supported on unemployment payments. As the cost of keeping them open is €550,000, it does not make economic sense to close them. There should already be a pot of money available to the Government to facilitate this. The Government did the right thing to save jobs and avert closures of these iconic sites last August. I again appeal to Mary Considine and her management team at the Shannon Group to engage with the Government, as the Minister has invited them to do, and once again strike such a deal.

I will conclude by referencing the motto emblazoned across the Clare County crest - dílis dár n-oidhreachta; loyal to our heritage. For the sake of workers, for the sake of tourism and for the sake of the mid-west region and its economy, we have to be loyal to our heritage sites at a time of need.

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