Seanad debates

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

3:30 pm

Photo of Martin ConwayMartin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the very nice tribute to the late councillor, John Bailey. So say all of us in terms of what Senator Boyhan very articulately said. He obviously knew Mr. Bailey better than I did and he articulated it extremely well. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

I rise to speak this afternoon about the speculation on the loss of 100 jobs in Moneypoint in County Clare. Everybody knows that the future of Moneypoint as a coal-burning facility for generating electricity will cease in the coming years. There are not too many employers in west Clare and the ESB is the second biggest employer there. Given the fact that the job cuts are imminent, as part of the Government's response we should have a special economic taskforce to look at what we can do to assist the people who are currently working in Moneypoint, who now face an extremely uncertain future. Such a taskforce should be funded by the Government with the support, funding and participation of the ESB. The ESB must engage closely with the unions and workers in Moneypoint to bring clarity as quickly as possible because there has been no official comment from the ESB on numbers. What we have heard is what is being speculated in the media and that is probably not a good position. The best position is for intensive escalation of engagement between ESB management and unions and workers at Moneypoint in order to bring the matter to a conclusion and to bring clarity. As part of that, it is extremely important for an economic taskforce to identify employment opportunities and alternative business and economic opportunities for west Clare.

I commend Lahinch golf club, the European Tour and the Dubai Irish Open on what was a phenomenally successful Irish Open in Lahinch over the weekend. In terms of numbers, it was the most successful Irish Open since 2012. People who have been going to the Irish Open for many years tell me that it was the most successful one in their memory in terms of enjoyment. Enormous credit is due to Paddy Keane and his great team in Lahinch golf club, Clare County Council, An Garda Síochána and the other State organisations, but in particular to the almost 1,000 volunteers from within Lahinch golf club and the wider community who rolled up their sleeves and assisted for the five to six days. Credit is also due to the many businesses which spent significant money upgrading their facades, painting their buildings and ensuring the place was pristine for the 20,000 visitors a day, amounting to approximately 90,000 overall.

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