Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I was not aware of the Aer Lingus debate in the Dáil. I concur with the points raised by Senator Brian Hayes. People on all sides of the House hold all sorts of views. Senator Ross has called for a debate numerous times and looked for a business plan. Everybody has views on it, probably all different, and we are entitled to put them on the record.

Last year when we discussed employment I made the point that 80% of Irish call centres would migrate to English-speaking Africa by the end of the next decade and I still think that will happen. What happened yesterday in Waterford is tough on the workers and the area. That was only a consolidation and reorganisation. There will be more of this and only the call centres that have added value such as technical support will stay here. Those that only give information and deal with issues will move to English-speaking Africa and we cannot depend on them. We should make every effort to bring better industry and to retrain and help the workers who have lost jobs in Waterford and to ensure they get a decent redundancy if they are left without employment. This is a significant issue for the future. A large number of people work for call centres around the country. Those who are simply giving out information will not do that for much longer and we must ensure there are alternatives for them. I would like to have a debate in the autumn on that kind of employment without added value.