Tom McEllistrim (Kerry North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very important issue for my constituency. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, to move quickly to ensure that jobs lost due to the closure of the Amann plant are replaced quickly and every opportunity for retraining and up-skilling is afforded to those affected so they may re-enter the workforce as soon as possible.

The closure of the German-owned Amann Industries in Tralee, the second largest manufacturing plant in north Kerry, which was announced last Friday, is a major blow to the region. An attempt to restructure to maintain jobs has proved unsuccessful and now a total of 340 jobs and millions of euro in revenue will be lost to the area. I call on the Minister to instruct the IDA to make Tralee its number one priority. I am making this case to the Department and I will be taking it up directly with the IDA. My first thoughts go to the employees and their families. I hope the company will put a generous redundancy package in place to see them through this difficult time. It is the least they deserve after all their loyal service and the hard work they have done for Amann over the years.

I have already spoken to the Minister of State on this issue and I am repeating my call for more support for Tralee town. I do not believe enough is being done to promote Tralee as an investment location and the IDA needs to take more responsibility for bringing jobs to Tralee. We need to be positive about all Tralee has to offer if we are to attract foreign investment. We need to be part of the marketing and PR effort to promote Tralee and help bring more jobs to the north Kerry and west Limerick areas.

The increase in the numbers on the live register across the north Kerry area is unwelcome and is an indication of the challenges that now face us, particularly with regard to manufacturing. These challenges must be faced and job losses must be minimised as far as possible. Our priority must be to create an environment that will allow those who have lost their jobs to return quickly to the workplace. Every opportunity for retraining and upskilling must be afforded to those affected so they may re-enter the workforce as soon as possible. Indeed, retraining and education should be offered immediately, even before the employees complete their employment with Amann.

We need to see results from the IDA's concentration on the linked hub locations of Killarney in south Kerry and Tralee in north Kerry. I recognise the need to mobilise initiatives and resources on a regional rather than a purely local basis. However, taking all these factors into account, it must be made clear that we are taking action to deal with the economic and employment challenges facing the people of Tralee and the north Kerry and west Limerick areas.

Before I conclude I will take the opportunity to congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, on his recent appointment.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Amann Industries Corporation announced a two-stage plan to close its production plant in Tralee at a general meeting of all employees last Friday. The plant, which has been in production since 1998, manufactures high-quality technical sewing threads with a range of industrial applications. A restructuring programme aimed at reducing manufacturing costs was already announced earlier this year with the loss of 120 jobs, and Friday's announcement was of the loss of the remaining 210 jobs. The company issued a press release which stated: "The need to remain competitive in a very difficult, cost sensitive market, combined with high labour, energy and other manufacturing costs have led to this regrettable decision."

I agree with Deputy McEllistrim that not enough has been done to bring industry to Tralee. Nothing of any note has been done either by the IDA or by the Government. Over the past ten years Tralee, the county capital, has lost many of its manufacturing industries, including Denny, Ridgeview, Kerry Fashions, Klopman, Maycon Mouldings, Glen Dimplex, Kleinhuis, Wilson socks and now Amann. Its industrial base has been decimated.

Since 1998 no new IDA-supported company has been established in Tralee or Kerry, but 30 new IDA-assisted international companies were established in Cork between 2002 and 2007. The IDA arranged 145 site visits in Cork for potential foreign direct investment between 2002 and 2007, whereas over the same period only 13 visits were organised for Kerry and, apparently, these were not of a serious nature.

One of the most exciting developments in the county was the opening of Kerry Technology Park in 2001. This resulted from the shared vision of Shannon Development — not the IDA — and the Institute of Technology in Tralee. Kerry Technology Park is now home to 17 companies which employ more than 300 people in well paid jobs. In 2007 these companies generated annual sales of more than €60 million. In 2007 the Government, in its wisdom, stripped Shannon Development, the prime driver of job creation in Tralee, of its industrial brief and transferred it to Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has no office in Tralee and no permanent presence there.

The live register figure for Tralee in March was 6,181, a 69.4% increase on the March 2008 figure. Tralee is a national black spot when it comes to job losses and employment creation. It has been ignored by both the IDA and the Government over the past ten years; it is simply not on the map.

The loss of 230 jobs at Amann is as big a blow to Tralee as the loss of more than 1,900 jobs at Dell in Limerick. The Government task force established in the aftermath of these job losses at Dell should be extended to include Tralee. I also ask that FÁS now put in place retraining programmes for those unfortunate workers who will now not be able to pay their mortgages, in some cases, and will find it difficult to get alternative employment. These measures should be put in place now.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment. He was responsible for setting up a chamber of commerce in Listowel and I thank him for that.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputies McEllistrim and Deenihan, and all Deputies and Senators, for their good wishes. I also thank the Deputies for raising this matter on the Adjournment.

On Friday 24 April, Amann announced that its plant in Tralee was to close with the loss of 215 jobs. The Tánaiste and the Department are keenly aware of the impact on the employees of Amann and their families. In many cases, such company announcements are a result of global conditions or decisions over which we have little influence. The closure announcement follows the announcement in January of the loss of 120 jobs in the dyeing operations due to their transfer to a new production plant in Romania. These job losses are under way, with 50 jobs lost and the remainder to go by September this year. The remaining labour-intensive spinning and twisting operations are to cease in June and will transfer to the company's facility in China over the period September 2009 to September 2010.

I am advised this decision is part of an overall restructuring and consolidation of the Amann operations to reduce manufacturing costs in light of the significant decline in its business due to the weakening global economy and the dramatic downturn in the automotive industry. The textile industry is extremely competitive and cost-sensitive, and the decline in sales is having a significant impact on its business, which relies on high volume and economies of scale to ensure its viability. Amann will no longer spin in-house and will replace this with material sourced from suppliers at low cost. The labour-intensive, low-value-added operations of twisting and spinning can no longer be sustained in Tralee and significant cost savings are envisaged in the transfer of these operations to its facilities in lower-cost countries.

The IDA has worked closely with the company to assess opportunities to sustain the plant, which was highly regarded as a productive and efficient plant within the group, and its representatives have met both local and German management. However, given the cost pressures and weak demand, the company felt it had no option but to restructure its operations to sustain the Amann group.

The role of FÁS, the industrial training agency, is particularly important in assisting those who lose their jobs. Following the internal company consultation process, which has just commenced, representatives of FÁS have met with Amann management and staff representatives and have formulated a plan of action to deliver the full range of FÁS services to all staff being made redundant in 2009 and 2010. These services will include on-site presentations to all staff; advice on setting up a resource centre in-house to facilitate staff in career guidance and job search activities; and the provision of a range of pre-redundancy and, where necessary, post-redundancy training courses to assist all staff in skills updating, which will enable them to compete in the labour market.

The State development agencies, including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and the Kerry County Enterprise Board, will continue to work to support existing jobs and secure new jobs in the Tralee area, liaising where appropriate with the local institute of technology.