Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

More than 700 people attended a public meeting in Navan last night on the closure of Tara mines. It is fair to say the miners and the people at that meeting have not seen much evidence of a social dialogue. Some 650 jobs have been put on ice and no say for the workers. The mine is shuttered with no date for a re-start and no say for the workers.

During the pandemic this employer said those workers were essential. Three years later, it says they are dispensable, at least for the rest of the year. The Government should nationalise the mine, use the skills of the workforce to supply zinc for a new, not-for-profit Irish zinc battery industry which is good for the environment, for jobs and for Navan. Why does the Government not decide to go down that road?

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