Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many of us will have heard about the issue of voluntary redundancies at Liberty Insurance. The company is commencing a process to seek 270 voluntary redundancies following its withdrawal from the Great Britain personal general insurance market. The company is seeking 135 redundancies in Dublin, 115 in Cavan and 20 in Enniskillen.

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the House to discuss the issue of inward investment and the role of the enterprise agencies. I am from Cavan and I worked for Quinn Insurance a number of years ago as a credit control agent dealing specifically with the British market. These are very significant jobs in the Border and midland regions. In the Cavan office the staff are from Cavan and the neighbouring counties. In recent years the record of enterprise agencies to bring potential investors to Cavan and Monaghan has not been good enough. I would like to know what action the Minister and the enterprise agencies are taking in the wake of this and other closures in the past number of months in counties Cavan, Monaghan and the surrounding counties. A large number of jobs have been lost but there has not been sufficient replacement jobs by means of companies or in small and medium enterprises being supported to take on more workers.

The people working in Liberty Insurance and other companies that have closed in recent months have particular skill-sets. They are highly qualified and we need to ensure that they can take up employment in their home areas so that they do not have to travel extreme distances in order to take up employment in their fields. We need to ensure that the enterprise agencies are supporting balanced regional development and that people are able to live and work in their own home areas. I ask for a debate or discussion on enterprise agencies, investment and regional development.