Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I raise an important issue relating to jobs in my county, namely, that of Tara Mines. Tara Mines has been closed since early June. Three months later, there is no word on the mine reopening. It is by far the largest employer in County Meath. It is estimated that about 2,000 jobs currently depend on a functioning mine, and this is especially important because Meath has had a lower investment per capitafrom the IDA and Enterprise Ireland for the past 15 or 20 years. Unfortunately, Meath has been allowed by the Government to develop as a commuter county and, as a result, the majority of workers living in Meath have to leave the county every day to go to work, which happens in no other local authority area. Tara Mines, therefore, is critically important to Meath.

The key components of that closure were the cost of zinc and electricity. We know energy costs in this country are way out of sync with other countries. Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe for electricity at the moment. It is safe to say the Government's energy policy is costing jobs in this State. From speaking to workers at Tara Mines, I am told other employers are reluctant to employ Tara Mines staff at the moment because they are on temporary layoff. They are of the view that the workers may not stay with the other employer at this time.

Other issues, too, are coming into the mix. A ten-year mining licence is to expire in November. Four licences have been worked on over the past year and they are up for renewal in November. It is incredible that it takes 12 months to process an application for a licence at the moment in this State but we are living at a time of enormous bureaucracy and red tape wherever normal citizens engage with the State. What is the story with those licences that are coming up for renewal?

The date of 12 October is looming large. That was the date when, we were told, the reopening of Tara Mines was going to be revisited. What has the Government done in the intervening three months to try to get Tara Mines open? What is the date for recommencement? Can we give any hope to these families regarding when they will get a decent job back? Many of them are suffering on very low incomes of €220 a week. Moreover, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, stated a year ago that she believes there should be an income support for workers who suffer redundancy. She stated that it should be up to 60% of their original income, and here we are a year later with no detail on that. An opportunity is coming up for the Government to put detail on it, namely, the budget. Will the budget include details on where we can increase the income of workers such as those in Tara Mines who are in trouble?

Another point with regard to Tara Mines relates to childcare, which is important for work and jobs but also for people having the ability to work within the State. A question was put to the Minister of State's colleague the Minister, Deputy Coveney, earlier regarding childcare. Childcare is in a state of crisis in this State, and I genuinely mean that. So many providers of childcare and early learning are seeing their incomes radically reduce and be corroded. These are people who are earning less than they did 20 years ago and who are taking out personal loans to keep their business afloat. These are mostly women who are going to go on strike next week in an effort to keep that sector open. They have tried a dozen times to engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, on this but he is simply refusing to engage. Indeed, I understand he walked out of a meeting that was organised with sectoral representatives in recent times. This is a car crash happening in slow motion and the Minister seems not to know what is going on in that area.

Will the Minister of State and her office, with the influence they have, influence the Minister for children, Deputy O’Gorman, to make sure these workers get a decent income in order that providers of childcare, especially in provincial towns such as that of the Minister of State and my own, are able to stay open? It is critical for parents to have a choice as to whether they can work in the labour market at the moment.

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