Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right. There has been an increase in the level of early warning reports and we all accept that a lot of that is due in part to a global restructuring, in particular in the tech sector, to which the Deputy referred in particular regarding PayPal. The one silver lining is that the global average has not impacted Ireland as much as the rest of the world. We have seen it being at a much lower scale in Ireland. Crucially, within the tech sector we are seeing net job increases across Ireland and the regions.

In Dundalk and the wider county of Louth, more jobs are being created and more companies are investing to offset what are very real concerns. No one ever wants to see anyone being made redundant, but the campus at Xerox offers a huge opportunity for FDI as well as indigenous business. All State agencies, as well as our Department, will make every effort to ensure that is supported. We are in a lucky position whereby we are at effective full employment nationally. We are seeing that repeated across regions, in particular in towns like Dundalk and the wider county of Louth.

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