Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputies Harkin, O’Reilly and Martin Kenny are sharing time and have four minutes.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Do we have four minutes each?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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No. The Deputies have 1 minutes 20 seconds each.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Apologies, I did not read my emails properly.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will check the time available as I calculate it is 1 minute 20 second each. It still remains 12 minutes in total. We will stop the clock and restart it at three minutes in fairness to the speakers, as it is three minutes to be shared by them.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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One minute each.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Yes. The Deputy will have to make the words matter.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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It is great to see the Sligo-Leitrim constituency so well represented by Deputy MacSharry and also by Deputy Kenny in raising this extremely important issue. I raised this issue with the Taoiseach yesterday and he agreed it was a hammer blow for the community in Collooney, with a population of approximately 1,700, to lose 80 jobs. It is a massive blow to the workers, their families and the surrounding community.

We can talk all day about how bad it is. The question is what will be done about this. Perhaps one of the tiny bright lights on the scene is that there is a research and development facility there where there are 11 jobs. The Taoiseach said that perhaps there was the potential for further investment. We need to hear from the Minister of State today that IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the Minister responsible will put this issue high on their agenda and ensure there are replacement jobs.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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These job losses will impact greatly on this small community. Eighty jobs is a large number to be taken out of it. This factory opened in 1984. At that time there was a larger facility, Gowna, which has closed in the town, having at one time employed up to 700 people. This factory has been there for a long time, it has sustained the community through very difficult times and it is very disappointing to see it close. My colleague, councillor Thomas Healy, has been in touch with other Deputies asking that the four constituency Deputies work together along with representatives of the local community and that we would meet IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the Minister to come up with a plan for the area because that is what we need. We need to ensure there is a plan in place to deliver for the community to ensure the people there can have a sustainable future. Sligo has great potential as an employment district and area but we need investment. Part of that investment is about the health service that has been taken away from the community, which is a major problem for the area.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I offer my solidarity and support to the workers in B. Braun Hospicare who are facing the loss of their jobs. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has a jobs, enterprise and development programme for the coming year. This programme talks about the creation and sustenance of high-quality enterprise and employment across all regions. Obviously, the IDA has a key role to play in this regard. It does great work, but that work could be better in the Border, midlands and western, BMW, region. Total employment in BMW-area IDA client companies is 8,721 as opposed to 124,000 in Dublin. There is a real disparity there. As my colleague, an Teachta Martin Kenny, has referred to, we need a discussion in which the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Tánaiste, is involved. Deputy Kenny will be convening such a meeting with local representatives, the IDA and other relevant stakeholders but we need to hear the Minister of State say this morning that she will fight like hell to save these jobs.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all of the Deputies. I apologise for the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who was not available this morning. I will start by acknowledging that this is an extremely difficult and stressful time for the workers of B. Braun and their families. The firm was a significant source of employment for Sligo and this news will have struck a heavy blow to the community there. I understand that the company made this decision as it found it difficult to continue to scale its specific manufacturing operations in Ireland to remain competitive. The Government, through IDA Ireland, worked closely with B. Braun to try to find a solution to the problems it faced. Unfortunately, a solution could not be found and the company made the disappointing decision to move a significant portion of its operations to third parties.

It will take approximately 18 months to fully wind down operations in the facility. In the meantime, the IDA will work with the company to explore options for the future of the site. It is likely that the site will be sold to an external party and the company has stated that it wants to ensure that it is sold to a buyer that can effectively use the site to help to create and grow jobs in the region.

The redundancy package for the affected workers is yet to be confirmed but the Government, through the Department of Social Protection, will make all necessary State assistance available to the workers, including welfare entitlements, help with their job search, education and training.

Direct questions were put as to the actions the Minister will take to help the affected workers. IDA Ireland is directly engaged with B. Braun at both local and corporate levels and will work to ensure additional investment for the Sligo area so that these workers can get new jobs. The fact that B. Braun will continue to operate in Sligo until 2023 provides time in which to seek alternative investment for the area. The IDA will work to ensure that investment. The Department has agreed a jobs loss response protocol with the Department of Social Protection. This puts in place efforts to assist the workers, including welfare entitlements, job search assistance and upskilling needs opportunities. Every State support will be made available to these workers when the time comes to help them to transition and find new employment opportunities. I understand that B. Braun will be retaining its Sligo-based research and development team of 11 employees. The company has insisted that more investment will come to this area, ensuring that its research and development operations in Sligo will continue in the years to come.

Despite this unfortunate news, the pipeline for new jobs in Sligo remains strong. Firms are continuing to commit to Sligo, with Advantio recently announcing that it will open its new European cybersecurity headquarters there. The region will also see further development under Project Ireland 2040, including through the new N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin road and a significant €13.7 million investment in the Institute of Technology Sligo. This will help to bring more investment and more jobs into the region. While it may be difficult to appreciate now, we have reason to be confident that, even in the current climate, we will find new opportunities for investment and for jobs in Sligo.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I have listened to what the Minister of State said. She talked about the pipeline for jobs in Sligo remaining strong. However, the statistics show that is not the case. In 2017, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation released a document looking at figures from the 2011 and 2016 censuses. This showed the lowest increase of any county in the country, 2%, was to be seen in Sligo. The national increase was 11%. It is not just Sligo. The surrounding counties, Leitrim, Roscommon and Mayo, had the second, third and fourth lowest increases. The pipeline for jobs in Sligo and the surrounding counties is not strong. Last week, I pointed out to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, that almost 60% of the area of Sligo, including Collooney, will wait until 2025 or 2026 for connection under the national broadband plan. This Government needs to look at the regions, including Sligo, and put something in place that will work.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The truth is that the Sligo area and the whole north west has always been behind because we do not have the infrastructure or technological expertise needed to maintain jobs in the area. Many of us are sending our children to college to get degrees but there are no jobs for graduates in the north west. That is a problem that needs to be addressed. The only way to regrow and facilitate work for people in the north west is to put the infrastructure and investment in. Government has a key role to play in that. I welcome what the Minister of State has said about the Departments being prepared to work with the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and so on but we have heard that many times in the past and little has come of it. The Minister of State will know that is the case in her own region as well. We really need to make this different. We need to put an infrastructure plan in place to ensure we can create new, sustainable, long-term jobs for people in that region. The closure of this factory is a sign that we are going in the wrong direction and that we are moving backwards.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The total employment in IDA client companies in the Border region is only 8,721. In the south west, it is more than 47,000 and, in the mid-west, it is more than 25,000. As I have previously said, the figure for Dublin is 124,000. Sligo and the other counties in the region need and deserve very specific attention because those figures show a very clear disparity. The loss of these jobs has foregrounded something which the Deputies representing the area, particularly my colleague, Deputy Kenny, have been raising for a while, which is that disparity in treatment specifically with regard to the IDA. I also welcome the commitment given that the IDA and Enterprise Ireland are going to work together but this has been heard before. We need to see the Minister responsible, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, taking this on, leading on it and ensuring action to back up those words.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the Deputies who intervened today. I very much share their concern about the impact of this announcement. In any area, the loss of 80 jobs is a massive blow to staff and the local community and will have knock-on effects on families. IDA Ireland and B. Braun will collaboratively seek a buyer for the company’s site. I am hopeful that, given its size and location, it will prove appealing to companies looking to locate or expand in our country. The Tánaiste has asked the IDA to keep him regularly updated on its progress in finding a buyer.

As difficult as it may be to appreciate right now, we have reason to be confident. Firms are continuing to commit to Sligo. I will give all of the Deputies here a commitment. I will speak to my colleague later on today about the issues they have raised. I take on board the point that it is very important for all stakeholders to work together. There is a window of 18 months, which will pass very quickly, to try to bring in someone who will invest in the site, the workers and the area.