Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this issue. She made a very fair point in respect of the significance of Meta's announcement. It is a significant number of job losses. Our thoughts have to go to the employees who will lose their jobs as a result of this announcement and their families. Notwithstanding that the economy is strong, people are committed to the particular jobs they are in at a given time. A sudden announcement such as this can undermine the planning of individuals and families in terms of job security and their lives in general. Our first obligation is to the employees to do everything we possibly can to ensure that they can secure alternative employment and to provide alternative programmes of education and training if people want to upskill with a view to gaining further employment. This is our initial focus.

On the broader level, the ICT sector in Ireland employs approximately 170,000 people. Up to this announcement, Meta was employing approximately 2,500 people directly and in the region of 5,000 contractors. It is a significant employer. We have welcomed its investment in Ireland, which has been significant in terms of the wider economy. More broadly, the number of people employed in the ICT sector increased by approximately 40,000 over the past three years. There was that sudden exponential growth in employment over a three-year period. Perhaps there was a misreading of the situation by technology companies in terms of what would happen after Covid as a result of the use of technology during the pandemic.

In terms of Deputy Bacik's comments on where we are at present, she is correct to say we cannot expect uninterrupted economic growth forever. That is why the Minister for Finance has brought forward proposals to the Government, and there will be further consideration to make sure we provide enough resources for capital and strategic purposes when the cyclical nature of economics kicks in. There are a number of areas where we have made very good progress in the past three years. The three parties in government have committed to reducing taxation and reducing the list of public services and increasing expenditure for services. In areas such as childcare, we have made appreciable gains. We now have opportunities to do something significant in education, health and disabilities.

Deputy Bacik referred to issues relating to pay. We have worked with ICTU and we will do so again. I am conscious of people working in the disability sector. Those working for section 39 organisations have fallen somewhat behind because of national pay agreements. We have to be fair and progressive in our budgeting. There are areas where perhaps we have opportunities to do things. The Low Pay Commission will deal with the minimum wage issue. Governments do not intervene in that process.

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