Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the Deputies. I apologise for the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who was not available this morning. I will start by acknowledging that this is an extremely difficult and stressful time for the workers of B. Braun and their families. The firm was a significant source of employment for Sligo and this news will have struck a heavy blow to the community there. I understand that the company made this decision as it found it difficult to continue to scale its specific manufacturing operations in Ireland to remain competitive. The Government, through IDA Ireland, worked closely with B. Braun to try to find a solution to the problems it faced. Unfortunately, a solution could not be found and the company made the disappointing decision to move a significant portion of its operations to third parties.

It will take approximately 18 months to fully wind down operations in the facility. In the meantime, the IDA will work with the company to explore options for the future of the site. It is likely that the site will be sold to an external party and the company has stated that it wants to ensure that it is sold to a buyer that can effectively use the site to help to create and grow jobs in the region.

The redundancy package for the affected workers is yet to be confirmed but the Government, through the Department of Social Protection, will make all necessary State assistance available to the workers, including welfare entitlements, help with their job search, education and training.

Direct questions were put as to the actions the Minister will take to help the affected workers. IDA Ireland is directly engaged with B. Braun at both local and corporate levels and will work to ensure additional investment for the Sligo area so that these workers can get new jobs. The fact that B. Braun will continue to operate in Sligo until 2023 provides time in which to seek alternative investment for the area. The IDA will work to ensure that investment. The Department has agreed a jobs loss response protocol with the Department of Social Protection. This puts in place efforts to assist the workers, including welfare entitlements, job search assistance and upskilling needs opportunities. Every State support will be made available to these workers when the time comes to help them to transition and find new employment opportunities. I understand that B. Braun will be retaining its Sligo-based research and development team of 11 employees. The company has insisted that more investment will come to this area, ensuring that its research and development operations in Sligo will continue in the years to come.

Despite this unfortunate news, the pipeline for new jobs in Sligo remains strong. Firms are continuing to commit to Sligo, with Advantio recently announcing that it will open its new European cybersecurity headquarters there. The region will also see further development under Project Ireland 2040, including through the new N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin road and a significant €13.7 million investment in the Institute of Technology Sligo. This will help to bring more investment and more jobs into the region. While it may be difficult to appreciate now, we have reason to be confident that, even in the current climate, we will find new opportunities for investment and for jobs in Sligo.

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