Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I wish to raise the issue of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. There is a vote in the European Parliament next week about this funding. Nearly 6,000 Irish construction workers are entitled to benefit from this, and we have a time limit of seven months in which to make sure all the paperwork is in order and draw down the funding. The total fund will be €55 million and it is for the purpose of retraining. As there has been a major decrease in the number of jobs in the construction industry and it is unlikely that the number of jobs will increase in the immediate future, it is important that people are given the opportunity of retraining so they can enter other areas of work. It is important that we claim this funding.

We should have a debate in this House on the issue. When Dell closed in Limerick, we had the opportunity, as a result of amendments to the structure of the fund, to draw down funding, but some of that money had to be sent back. I do not want that to happen again. It is important that we have a debate to make sure all the t's are crossed and the i's dotted, so that people who are out of work at the moment can retrain and move into other areas of employment. I ask for a debate in the House on this matter, which is being voted on next week in the European Parliament. The funding will be available, so it is up to us to make sure we fit all the criteria on this occasion.