Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, is here with us. This is the first opportunity I have had in the Chamber to congratulate him on his appointment and wish him well on his work. I worked closely with him in the previous Dáil as a member of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. I have to say he was an exemplary Chairman of the committee over a five-year period.

Unfortunately, this is the third time in the past four years I have had to secure a Topical Issue debate in this House on job losses at Liberty Insurance, which was formerly known as Quinn Insurance. There were 285 job losses in the company in November 2012. A further 270 workers were made redundant in June 2015. Now, in June 2016, the company is facing further job losses as a result of the announcement of 70 redundancies. Liberty Insurance has been a major and important employer in Cavan town since the mid-1990s. More recently, it has been a major employer in Enniskillen and Blanchardstown. It had an office in Navan, County Meath, at one stage as well.

When Liberty Insurance purchased Quinn Insurance in October 2011, it gave a firm commitment as an international company to the Government, through which the sales process had to be approved, that it would maintain more than 1,000 people in employment in three locations. My understanding is that there is a total employment level of 470 in Cavan and Blanchardstown today. There are 211 people employed in Cavan and more than 250 people employed in Blanchardstown. The company is now seeking a further 70 redundancies. We do not know how many redundancies will occur at each site. Having spoken to many skilled, diligent and hard-working employees of the company in Cavan, I know they did not believe they would now be facing redundancy. They are very worried about their future employment prospects. Most of them are young people with family and mortgage commitments and the usual challenges of running a home and paying off a mortgage. They are very concerned about their future employment prospects. I have known this company very well since its formation in the mid-1990s. It has given very good employment to many local people and people from a wide catchment area. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Eugene Murphy, will be familiar with it as well. I emphasise that this company plays an extremely important role in the insurance industry.

When the Tánaiste; the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor; the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar; and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton were in the House last week, I took the opportunity to ask them to ensure their Departments and the relevant statutory agencies under the aegis of their Departments will work with all the employees who are facing an uncertain future now to ensure they receive the maximum assistance. The departmental agencies need to provide the many employees who are facing job losses with the relevant upskilling and assistance to get them through this difficult period. Those who unfortunately will lose their jobs need to be given assistance to try to find employment elsewhere. In a subsequent meeting with the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, I asked her to try to ensure her Department and the various agencies, including IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, work with Liberty Insurance. They need to impress on the company its obligation to retain the maximum possible level of employment at its locations in this country, particularly Cavan. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to replace any jobs that are lost in Cavan. I am making a direct appeal to the Minister of State on behalf of the talented and committed workforce in Liberty Insurance. They need every possible assistance to retain their employment.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, well in his new role.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Chair and Deputy Smith for their good wishes. I want to wish Deputy Smith well in his new role as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence. I know he will do a good job in that position. He was a great member of the previous committee. I thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue. I apologise for the absence of the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, who is otherwise engaged on official duties. I spoke to her this morning in advance of this debate.

I assure Deputy Smith that everything possible will be done to ensure Cavan is considered an important area in the Action Plan for Jobs. I share his concerns regarding the recent developments at Liberty Insurance. The most significant area of concern following last week's announcement of job losses at the company is the proposal to reduce the number of jobs in Cavan town. This would be a significant blow to the employees and their families. We have to think about those employees who are facing an uncertain future. The reason for these redundancies is that the company has announced that it is conducting a strategic review of its business. The company has cited difficulties in the insurance sector, including perceived market volatility and claims increases. The company has highlighted its intention to strengthen its long-term competitive position in Ireland. I suppose it is heartening that the redundancy programme is being rolled out on a voluntary basis. I hope there will be people who want to take redundancy of their own free will. It is important that the redundancies which are to be offered will have attractive terms. I remind Deputy Smith that the services of the Workplace Relations Commission, which provides information on employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations, are available if they are required.

Despite this bad news, there has been a positive job creation development from Liberty Insurance. In 2013, it announced the creation of 150 jobs in an information technology project at its Blanchardstown operation. This project is unaffected by the recent announcement. Our immediate focus rests on IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, which are redoubling their efforts. I assure Deputy Smith that these agencies will drive job creation in County Cavan by exploring all options to replace the jobs that have been lost there. I can inform him that IDA Ireland is engaging with Liberty insurance to develop a skills profile of the affected workforce, based on feedback received regarding voluntary redundancies, so that it can aim to match staff with other potential employers. I know Deputy Smith has raised this issue. The experience of the dedicated and skilled workforce in Cavan is extremely important. The past couple of years have been encouraging for Cavan and Monaghan. It has been particularly encouraging to see the strong performance of a number of Irish-owned companies in recent times. A number of companies across the Cavan and Monaghan area, including Lakeland, Combilift, Glanbia, Swift Fine Foods and Lagan Brick, have expanded their operations in recent times.

We will press on with our efforts to drive job creation in County Cavan, which is included in the action plan for the north east and north west that was launched on 30 November last. This plan aims to deliver an additional 28,000 jobs in the region by 2020. The key targets in this regard include an increase of at least 25% in the number of start-up companies in the region, an improvement of 25% in the survival rate of new businesses and an increase of between 30% and 40% in the number of IDA Ireland investments in the region by 2019. The sectors targeted as part of this plan include the traditionally strong sectors for the region, such as agri-food, manufacturing, engineering and tourism. There will be active promotion of the tourism potential of the lakelands region, which includes County Cavan.

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Finally, both the Minister and I are fully committed to regional development. Centres like Cavan deserve to recover. Together with the relevant agencies, we will drive economic development, counteract setbacks such as this and press forward with job creation initiatives.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Will he and his colleague, the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, maintain contact with the statutory agencies under the Department's remit to ensure they maintain contact with the employees who will be affected and that all possible support is given to those people when they seek upskilling, retraining and alternative employment. I must emphasise again the need for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the State's other industrial promotion agencies to maintain contact with the company to maximise the level of employment at the Cavan site. In 2012 and a year ago, when I raised the issue before in the House, the then Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, stated the company gave a commitment that it would maintain more than 1,000 jobs at the three sites. That commitment given to the Government, and specifically to the Minister of Finance, Deputy Noonan, has not been honoured. Accordingly, there is an onus on the State, through the Ministers' good offices and the statutory jobs agencies, to impress upon the company its obligations.

It has a particular obligation to the Cavan town site. The company was founded there and has expanded with additional offices in Blanchardstown. The Minister of State referred to the company's proposal to develop an IT project which will result in 150 jobs in Blanchardstown, which I welcome. However, I am concerned about the diminution in the influence of the Cavan office and the number of employees there. We need jobs in Blanchardstown but it is easier to bring jobs to the greater Dublin area than it is to Cavan. That is why I am appealing to the Minister of State to ensure the maximum level of employment is maintained in Cavan.

The loss of more jobs at Liberty Insurance in Cavan is a serious blow to the local economy. It is particularly difficult for the employees who will be affected. For the past several years, we have seen a severe reduction in the number of employees in Cavan. I know practically all of them who have lost their jobs. They are predominantly from the Cavan-Monaghan area. Those working there now are concerned about their future and need every possible reassurance and support from the State.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy Brendan Smith that the regions have been most affected by job losses over the years. There is a perception that new jobs are only going into the greater Dublin area and other urban hubs. That is why we have put into place the Action Plan for Jobs which has been successful. Last year, the IDA supported 1,165 jobs in the Cavan area. Some of the jobs announcements there have been positive for the region.

I will talk to the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to ensure the employees in question are looked after. They are skilled workers who have dedicated their careers to this specific area. That is why the agencies and the IDA are working with Liberty Insurance to look at the profile of those employees affected by the redundancies and ensure they can be matched with potential employers.

The Action Plan for Jobs in the northern region has done well and its targets will be met. We will establish a north west regional skills forum which will include the flow of critical skills to enterprise in the region. There will be collaboration between the enterprise agencies, the education and training boards and the institutes of technology. They will develop a marketing proposition around insurance and tentacle services clusters in the north-west and Cavan area.

I am confident we can create jobs in the region. I regret very much that there will be 70 job losses at the Cavan and Dublin Liberty Insurance offices. However, I hope the company will get the necessary voluntary redundancies and there will not be forced redundancies. I hope those taking voluntary redundancy will get a good package. Both the Minister and I will work hard to ensure jobs are brought to the region.