Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming in.

Across County Limerick and the wider region, we have seen a steady erosion of jobs, from Andersen Ireland a decade ago to Irish Dresden in 2021, Rettig in 2023 and, of course, Wyeth Nutritionals, which is closing next March. On top of that, last week we heard the announcement that Kostal in Abbeyfeale will be shutting down one of its sections, which could see up to 50%, that is, 200, of its jobs, being lost. It was confirmed that the company is moving that section of its plant to China. Also last week, Lidl had planning permission in for Abbeyfeale, which was refused, which would have created more employment for the area.

It seems to be a downward spiral constantly when it comes to jobs for west Limerick. Across the border, obviously, it is affecting County Kerry, because there are between 400 and 500 workers in Kostal in Abbeyfeale coming from the two regions, both Limerick and Kerry. This development is devastating for the local area, not only for these positions within the plant but also for the local shops. That is 200 fewer people driving into the town to get their diesel and to go to the shop at lunch. When you see a downward spiral in jobs at this level, it makes you worried as to what is coming.

I would like to know what the Department will do. Are the officials going to step in and discuss this with management? SIPTU is meeting with management on 9 October to see if there is any way of saving some of these jobs. There has been mention that some of these jobs could be moved to the company's Mallow branch. That is great for some, but it depends on where these workers are travelling from in the first place whether they can go to Mallow. I ask the Minister of State if he could take it to the Minister and see what he might be able to do to try to save some of these jobs.