David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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It is not a good time for Waterford or the workers of Bausch & Lomb. Last Thursday, the dreadful news was delivered to us that the management had called in the members of staff to inform them that it was seeking 200 redundancies and pay cuts of 20% for the remaining 900 staff. Since then, there has been much discussion and many meetings between Oireachtas Members and the management of the company, between Oireachtas Members and the Minister's office and the Department, and between the enterprise agencies and the company. More importantly, union representatives are locked in discussions with management and we wish both parties well in their discussions. We are looking forward to a better outcome in terms of what was announced a number of weeks ago. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that every effort is made to protect and maintain jobs at the plant in Waterford and that every resource of the State, in terms of the enterprise agencies and the industrial relations machinery, is made available to the union, the workforce and the company to get the best possible outcome.

Perhaps the Minister will outline the discussions that have taken place between the Department, the Minister and the company in the lead-up to the announcement and why trade unions were kept in the dark about what was happening. It seems the workers and their union representatives were the last to find out. Perhaps the Minister can explain the supports offered in respect of supporting and retaining jobs at the plant. My understanding, from discussions with the vice president of the company, is that any support the Government is willing to offer is completely independent of the €20 million saving they say must be achieved to make the company viable. This includes the 200 redundancies and pay cuts of 20%. Why is Government support not part of an overall package to mitigate the effect, especially the 20% pay cut that unions have articulated as unsustainable for families? We need the Minister and the Government to be active participants in what is happening. I acknowledge that the Minister has had discussions with the company and has put on record the Government's willingness to support the company where it can. How will that happen? What tangible support can be put in place and what practical support has been offered to the company?

The Minister knows there is understandable anger and frustration in Waterford because of the overall jobs situation in a jobs crisis. Even if we can mitigate the number of redundancies the company seeks and the pay cuts, there will be considerable hurt and the workforce must endure redundancies and some level of pay cuts. That will have an impact on the local economy, especially in a city with high levels of unemployment such as in Waterford city, the county and the south east. What practical steps has the Government taken to implement the Forfás report, published by an arm of the State that comes within the remit of the Minister, which made clear recommendations? Have all of the recommendations been implemented? The Minister is aware of the south-east economic development strategy published by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation last year. A similar report was published by the newly merged authority in Waterford city and county, making similar risk recommendations about the need for university, a level playing field for foreign direct investment, regional grant aid, the need for regional office of the IDA based in Waterford, a regional director of the IDA based in Waterford, and a regional strategy of the enterprise agencies working to a regional plan.

What concrete proposals have been implemented by the Minister and the Government since the reports were published? Does the Minister agree that far more must be done to shore up, protect, maintain and create jobs in Waterford city add county and the south-east region generally?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I share his concerns following the recent developments in Bausch & Lomb initiated by the new owners of the company. I fully realise the exceptional pressures on workers and their families that stem from the restructuring proposals made by Bausch & Lomb. The company has provided significant numbers of jobs in Waterford for several decades for which it has been a valuable part of Waterford's industrial landscape. IDA Ireland has worked closely with it to help it to develop the plant in the city and seek to safeguard its future here. With IDA Ireland, I have been engaging with Bausch & Lomb for some time on recent developments in an effort to secure as many jobs as possible in Waterford. The company has stated its clear preference is to keep the Waterford plant open. I have been assured by it that it is seeking to introduce voluntary redundancies in the first instance. I am pleased to confirm that my Department and IDA Ireland are proposing substantial financial support for a major investment by the company to secure its future and position it for expansion in the event that restructuring is successful.

I met senior executives from SIPTU earlier today when we had a constructive discussion on all aspects of the difficulties. It is heartening that the discussions which commenced between the company and the unions in Waterford yesterday appear to be progressing in a satisfactory manner, although, of course, there are significant obstacles to be tackled. I urge both sides to engage constructively in discussions to secure the future of the plant and position it for future investment.

The Deputy has raised some other issues. In cases in which companies are facing difficult decisions there is an early warning system in place under which we seek to be alerted to difficulties such that IDA Ireland can work with them to try to maximise job protection. Clearly, such discussions cannot be held in public or made public knowledge for public representatives. Having said that, I can understand people wishing to know everything that is happening. By their nature, these discussions are confidential and we work with companies, especially publicly quoted companies such as Bausch & Lomb, while respecting that there must be confidentiality. It is essential that we be able to work with companies to maximise the protection of jobs. I realise this issue got into the media before the company had an opportunity to sit down with the workforce and can understand how people were upset by this. As always, our efforts involve working with many companies that have different difficulties to try to maximise job protection in all cases.

I accept what the Senator says about the challenges faced in the area. On my initiative we took steps to put a particular concentrated focus on the south east. That continues to be the case and we have recorded progress in some areas. Of course, further work remains to be done. As part of An Action Plan for Jobs 2014 we are committed to developing a regional enterprise framework for the south east. However, as is the case for all regions, we need to look more carefully at the potential to develop the regions and their competitive advantages. I am moving to create a framework whereby all stakeholders can have a meaningful role to play. I acknowledge that this is something we need to develop and that it has not really been a part of enterprise strategy in the past.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Unfortunately, the early warning system did not involve the workers. I am not in any way concerned about the information public representatives are given. As it turned out, I ended up receiving information before the workers and the trade union. Clearly, the early warning system did not work for the workers.

I raised the wider issue of job creation in Waterford. The point I was making was related to the south-east economic development strategy and its core recommendations. I am making a direct appeal to the Minister. Is he prepared to meet me to discuss the report, its recommendations and the efforts that can be made by him and Government agencies to implement the report? Will he give me that commitment?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland's early warning system is about identifying companies within its remit that are facing difficulties and seeking to work through a transformation agenda. Over three quarters of IDA Ireland's budget is spent on the transformation agenda and working with companies to reposition them to protect jobs for the future. This work is not done in the public arena, rather it is done on the basis of confidentiality, which is expected by companies in their dealings with IDA Ireland. The agency must do this. Naturally, companies must work with their employees, but the relationship between them is a matter for which they take responsibility. We try to pre-empt job losses in every way we can and that is what we have sought to do in this case. We have published the south-east action plan and I have had several meetings with stakeholders in the south east. I am always open to and will plan to have further meetings with them. I have also met public representative and I am always open to meeting them.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I was referring to the joint Oireachtas committee's south-east economic development strategy report.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Minister to continue, without interruption.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am always open to meeting public representatives and I have no problem meeting them. This is an area in which I have taken an initiative to place a focus on the south east. I have recognised the need identified and taken an active role in trying to meet it. I welcome the support of public representatives in seeking to meet it.