Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

SIPTU will respond to the Minister’s request to provide it with a submission. I am grateful he agreed to meet the trade unions, especially the shop stewards, including Trevor McGinn, who is a very impressive shop steward representing the workers at that plant. He knows the operation inside out.

The concerns workers have are that they have not been given the opportunity themselves to make the case for their jobs to be retained and for BD to be retained in Drogheda. Later today, I will meet the UK and Ireland general manager and make the case that BD's position should be reviewed and that the trade unions and workers should be given the opportunity to make the case for these very important jobs to be retained in Drogheda. This is the only IDA-backed manufacturing facility of scale left in Ireland's largest town. The IDA has significant work to do to attract foreign direct investment in Drogheda and it needs to work harder. As we know, it is much easier to retain a job than it is to attract another one, and that is where our focus needs to be.

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