Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The first issue selected is in the names of Deputies Carey and Quinlivan who wish to discuss job losses recently announced at Molex in Shannon, with the company due to close.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this most important issue for debate. Yesterday's shock announcement that Molex in Shannon was to close with 500 job losses was a devastating blow for workers, their families and the mid-west region. Many of the workers have been employed in Molex for 20 years or more and are distraught at the news. They face an uncertain future. These dedicated workers must be rewarded with a fair redundancy package that firmly recognises their length of service with this profitable global company. I believe a period of consultation with the employees is about to commence and urge the company to respond positively to its loyal workforce.

It is critical that the full resources of the State be deployed to assist the workforce in re-skilling, finding alternative employment and securing a new investor for the site. I welcome the Minister's intervention this morning when she called together all of the stakeholders in the region. I attended the meeting. It was hugely significant that all of the stakeholders were present - IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the local authority, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the Shannon Group, the regional skills forum, the university and LIT. There is a willingness on their part to help the workforce. Last night I called for the establishment of a task force. In that regard, I welcome the Minister's move today to confirm that a steering group would be set up to put together a co-ordinated response to the massive number of job losses in County Clare and the mid-west region.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I also thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue matter which is obviously very important in my constituency, even though the jobs to be lost are listed in County Clare. As everyone is well aware, Shannon is located very close to Limerick city, from where many of the workers involved come. Molex has delivered a number of good jobs for a huge number of years, with generations of families working in the industry. There are also spin-off companies which are dependent on Molex. My sympathy also extends to the employees of Novartis in County Cork. It is devastating news for the workers after the recent job losses, particularly in Roche and at Moneypoint, another big hit for the mid-west region. This is the worst number of job losses the mid-west has seen since Dell closed its manufacturing plant ten years ago. Some of the same workers are now caught up in the new round of redundancies. Will the Minister indicate if there are European funds that can be accessed to retrain and up-skill to help the workers affected by the job losses announced yesterday to find new employment, especially those in Molex? I am aware that in the aftermath of the Dell factory closure European funds were available, but not all of the money was drawn down to help the workers. The available funds must be drawn down and everything must be done to ensure this will happen. The required skills are available to enable it to happen. A number of years ago I was in Brussels when I was informed that Ireland was particularly bad at drawing down funding that was available, if it wanted to access it.

It is essential that the unions be involved in the discussions that will take place in the next number of weeks. Will the Minister inform the Dáil if she has met the union representatives and can she commit to ensuring they will be involved in all future discussions? The workers in counties Clare, Limerick and Cork do not want to hear any express of sympathy today; rather, they want to hear what the Minister's clear plan is and how the Government will help them. Will the Minister inform the House if she has spoken to IDA Ireland to ask it to focus on finding other businesses to locate in the Shannon free zone which may help to alleviate the effect of some of the job losses? Will the Minister outline the supports the Government and the social protection services will be putting in place for the hundreds of workers affected?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue.

The announcement yesterday by Molex that it was to close its facility in Shannon was deeply disappointing. I understand fully how important an employer the company has been and the role it has played in supporting jobs and enterprise in the mid-west since 1971. Of course, our immediate concern is for the workers and their families who are impacted on by the announcement. Many of the workers have been with Molex for many years, which makes the news all the more difficult. The Government is, therefore, determined to act as swiftly as possible to address the closure and help to mitigate, as much as it can, the consequences for the workers and the Shannon region.

I spoke to the CEO of Molex yesterday about the announcement to see if there was any alternative and he assured me that the decision could not be changed. I travelled to Shannon this morning, together with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Breen - Deputy Carey was also present, with other local representatives - to convene a meeting with representatives from the State's enterprise agencies, Departments, Clare County Council, third level institutions and the local business community to help to determine how best we could respond. Our discussions were an important first step in responding to the announcement. The main priority for all involved is to address the short-term needs of the workers impacted on and make every State support available to them. The supports will include assisting the workers in finding alternative employment and helping them to re-skill to ensure they will do so. IDA Ireland will also be marketing the building to try to ensure another business will be established in it. Looking further ahead, we need, as was agreed collectively this morning, to make sure we create new opportunities in the mid-west region that will help to offset many of the job losses. The mid-west regional enterprise plan which was launched earlier this year wilt be a critical tool in that respect. It was also encouraging to learn more about the skills of the Molex employees. I am confident that these skills will be in demand from other employers in the area.

While the news is a significant blow for Shannon and the wider area, it is important to say that mid-west region continues to provide a very attractive offering for multinational and indigenous enterprises. The region has seen significant investment in the last three years and key employers in the region include many large-scale manufacturing employers such as Beckton, Dickinson, Edwards Lifesciences, Analog Devices, Johnson and Johnson, Regeneron, Stryker and Zimmer. The overall trend in job creation in Ireland - it is important to emphasise this point - remains very positive.

As difficult as it may be to appreciate now, we have reason to be confident that we will find new investment and opportunities for the employees of Molex. The Shannon site will not close fully until the end of 2020. In the meantime, I assure the Deputies that it will be an absolute priority for the Government to help the workers to transition into new jobs. What we are doing following meeting this morning is setting up a core team of key people who will co-ordinate the response locally. Deputy Quinlivan mentioned European funds. A contributor at the meeting, at which 30 people were present from all of the different agencies involved, said the one thing one should not do was to rush in to make an application. If one is to be successful in obtaining European funds, one needs to identify the skill set required, find out exactly what one wants to do and the application will then need to be made. The Deputy is correct in saying the money available was not drawn down fully the last time an application was made. That was because it was a knee-jerk reaction. It is important, therefore, that we look at this in the whole, make the right application and receive all possible support from the European Globalisation Fund to ensure the workers will receive the right training.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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It is good to hear the Minister say this will be an absolute priority for the Government because it is a huge blow to County Clare, Shannon in particular. It is also a huge blow to the people who work in Molex and their families, to whom I have spoken and listened. They are really concerned as they face an uncertain future. It is critically important that all resources of the State be deployed. I welcome the Minister's confirmation that that will happen. It is also critically important that be communicated directly to the workforce and I encourage the Minister to do so and also to keep up the momentum following her intervention today. We need to get the task force moving straightaway also.

I encourage the Minister to keep all the public representatives in the region abreast of activities in that regard.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I, too, welcome the meeting that took place this morning with workers and business people in Shannon. It is important that the workers be supported and kept informed in the coming period.

On the EU application, I totally understand such matters take time. I am anxious that we do it right. We should take our time but do it right. We did not do so with Dell in the past.

The live register figure in Limerick is quite good but we are back where we were just before manufacturing in Dell collapsed in 2009. A shock wave has gone through the city. The closure of Molex, because of its size, will have a huge knock-on effect across the local economy, including in Limerick city and Shannon, and for smaller businesses.

Indigenous businesses simply need more support from the State. That is why I recently launched my document on local employment offices and on creating a stronger agency for them on par with IDA Ireland. While foreign direct investment is important to the regions and State as a whole, local enterprise offices can work really well if they are supported a little more.

We have proposed the establishment of a group in the Minister's Department. I ask her to make progress on that. Unfortunately, the job losses we have seen in recent days show how volatile foreign direct investors can be. They are often beyond our control, with Trump on one side and Brexit on the other. Can the Minister outline what she is doing to reduce our reliance on multinationals?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We understand fully how important the company is to the region and the role it has played in supporting jobs in the mid-west. There is no doubt that much work lies ahead. The company has been one of County Clare's biggest employers for many years, and the jobs cannot be replaced overnight. At the meeting this morning, however, it was very positive to learn there are many employers looking for the skill set in question. They will be having a jobs fair where potential employees can find out what jobs are available. There are many highly skilled workers in Molex. The highly skilled workforce is a great asset to potential investors. Acquiring a fully trained and highly skilled pool of talent is not always easy. The talent is available and the employees' skills will be needed in other companies. We heard that very clearly this morning.

The meeting I convened today was a strong statement of intent by the Government, key stakeholders and local business community to the effect that we will not allow the closure to reverse the progress made in County Clare and the rest of the region over many years. I look forward to working with all those who attended today as we do everything we can to source new investment and employment for the area.

On Deputy Carey's point, I will certainly keep the local Oireachtas representatives informed about what is going on. It was very clear this morning that it is a matter of putting all shoulders to the wheel. We will all work together to make sure we find new investment and job opportunities for those affected.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister keep the local representatives in Limerick city informed?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Yes, we will keep everybody informed.