Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators Ryan and Hannigan for raising this matter on the Adjournment, which I take on behalf of the Tánaiste.

It is with deep regret that the Government has learned of the closure of the SR Technics operation at Dublin Airport. The company's operation in Cork, which employs approximately 200 persons, remains unaffected.

The Tánaiste, with the Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the chief executive officer of IDA Ireland, met the company on 11 February. I should add that a number of meetings took place between the State, its agencies and the company in the past year. The company explained that it had been exploring all options for its Dublin operations, including sale to another party. Unfortunately, it was not possible to proceed with any of those options.

The company explained the global deterioration that had taken place in its business since mid-2008, with contracts moving to Eastern Europe, Jordan, Turkey and Malta. It confirmed that it was putting in place a five-year restructuring plan and that it had already reduced its worldwide workforce by 500 in the past year. The company stated that the recent loss of major contracts, current business and economic forecasts and the high cost base and over-capacity at Dublin airport made it impossible to continue a sustainable business in Dublin.

SR Technics provides line maintenance for the Aer Lingus fleet at its Dublin base. This is a long-term contract awarded by Aer Lingus in 2008 following a competitive procurement process. The company has indicated that it hopes to assign this and other smaller operations to another operator which offers the potential of saving up to 200 jobs. Pending the outcome of negotiations on this issue the company could not give the Tánaiste a definitive figure on the actual number of jobs likely to be saved. However, SR Technics will itself continue the line maintenance operations for the present.

IDA Ireland has had an ongoing relationship with the company over many years and approved a significant training grant package for the company in 2006 to assist the company in maximising efficiencies and improving competitiveness. IDA Ireland also had discussions with the company in regard to its business plan and further opportunities to assist the company with additional financial incentives such as research and development support, with the emphasis on innovation and process development.

FÁS has been at the forefront in providing intervention and support to employees who have been made redundant or who are facing redundancy. FÁS is currently in contact with SR Technics management to discuss the services available from FÁS and the potential needs of the employees. Each response will be tailored on a case by case basis. FÁS's services to business unit will also be involved in these consultations. During this consultation, FÁS will establish the skills profile of the workforce, the years of service and experience of employees, the level of education and any other relevant information.

It is important to establish how best FÁS can assist the workers. Following this initial contact, a judgment will be made in regard to the level of FÁS intervention required. FÁS employment services officers will conduct one-to-one registration and guidance interviews with staff and the full range of FÁS services will be explained and made available to them, such as CV preparation, interview techniques, information on job vacancies notified to FÁS, the Jobs lreland web-based services, the national contact centre, information on training programmes and jobs clubs.

The State development agencies will work together to take the appropriate actions to support the workers in finding new employment, including assistance to re-skill and re-train to enhance their future employment potential.