George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In January of this year BNY announced it was to close its Wexford facility with 95% of its 310 Wexford-based employees to transfer elsewhere or be made redundant. Significantly, BNY operations in Dublin and Cork are not impacted by these cuts. The first question to be answered is: why Wexford? Clearly the cost of both property and operating is higher in Dublin. What discussions did the IDA have with BNY in advance of this decision? The Minister, Deputy Burke, promised in the immediate aftermath of the announcement that he would do everything possible to support affected staff and to ensure options were available to the 310 individuals and their families. Will the Minister be clear today in setting out what the position is more than two months after the announcement? Financial services are one of Wexford's economic focuses. I would like a clear commitment from both the Taoiseach and the Minister, and through him the IDA, that every possible effort is being made to find a replacement company in the financial services sector to replace BNY. Do the Minister or the Taoiseach have any progress to report on this?

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