Mary White (Fianna Fail)

In August, a shiver ran through the people of Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford when MBNA announced it would leave the international credit card business. Fortunately, tomorrow the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, will attend a meeting, along with the IDA head of financial services, Kieran Donoghue, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to find out why MBNA Bank of America intend to leave the international credit card business and whether it involves a sale or a wind down. A total of 750 people are employed by MBNA Bank of America in Carrick-on-Shannon and salaries totalling €26 million a year are pumped into the local economy and the hinterland of Carrick-on-Shannon. If MBNA pulls out in an unsatisfactory manner there will be devastation in the communities of Leitrim and Roscommon. I call for the Minister to come to the House as soon as possible after his return to bring us up to date on the matter. The Government should be about jobs.

As I stated on many occasions in the Chamber, I established Lir chocolates with Connie Doody, during the previous recession and we now employ 250 people. I saw with my own eyes the devastation when people have no jobs and I saw the transformation in their self-confidence and psyche when they got a job.