Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and thank her for coming.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this important issue. She is aware that Wellman International, based in Mullagh, County Cavan, recently went into examinership. Serious concerns have been raised regarding the future of the company and the rights of its employees. There are more than 200 jobs at risk. The company has been an established employer in the area for more than 50 years, and many employees have worked for it for decades. The potential loss of these good-quality jobs would be a devastating blow to the community and the local economy. Some 215 people will be out of work if a new, well-intentioned owner is not found. That is 215 people who will be worrying about their mortgages, household bills and how to put food on the table.

Many people went to Wellman’s as craft apprentices and have stayed with the company since. Some employees have been with it for more than 45 years. Those employees will only be offered statutory redundancy. How can this be?

I was surprised by the statement the Minister of State issued in which she indicated that her thoughts were with the workers. Is offering thoughts and prayers all the Government can do? She is a local, and she is also Minister of State at the Department of enterprise. She needs to start throwing her weight around in the Department and deliver something for the workers of Cavan. She also said that the Government is well aware of the challenges.If the Government was well aware that this company was headed for disaster, why did it continue to pump taxpayers' money into it without oversight as to how it was being run, without contingency plans for the workers who have been affected, and without ensuring workers' rights to redundancy packages? The company knew it was not profitable for the past two years and yet there was no attempt to rightsize or scale it back from a 24-7 operation. This company is supported by the IDA and therefore by the Irish taxpayer. There should be some level of Government oversight. There is an onus on the State to ensure the assets derived from taxpayers' money are not simply sold to speculators or stripped for God knows what.

Do we know anything about the new investor and his or her intentions? Will the Minister of State tell us why employees of the Indorama Ventures group received redundancy packages in other countries but not here? How can a multimillion euro corporation plead insufficient finances and only offer statutory redundancy to Irish workers? Why has the loophole in the law that allows this to happen not been closed? The company went into examinership at the High Court last Tuesday at 2.45 p.m. At 5 p.m., an investor appeared out of thin air. This has created real concern among workers. They are wondering whether this is a genuine investor or a speculator or asset stripper. They do not know. How can we be sure the company has not choreographed the situation with this investor all along? Does the Minister of State have further insight into the investor? Can the employees trust him or her? Will the Minister of State answer these questions and outline the steps she is going to take to support the employees and workers in Mullagh?

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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This is a highly important issue that affects not just east Cavan but also Meath, Monaghan and the entire community of Mullagh. I contend that way more than 217 people will be affected by this. In addition to the workers themselves, there are ancillary staff, canteen staff and many outside companies that provide services and look after machinery in the facility. I have been in regular contact with the staff within Wellman over recent days following this really shocking announcement. This is devastating to say the least. Families and workers have felt this coming for some time. I have relatives who work there and who raised families while doing so. Over the 50 years they spent in Wellman, the company demonstrated great loyalty to the staff employed in it, the community of Mullagh and way beyond.

It is very sad to hear this announcement but we have to deal with reality. The company went into an examinership process on 3 June. That process is overseen by a court. The company is placed under court protection for a period of time to allow for the potential rescue and return to financial health of the company, which may be in severe financial difficulty, potentially securing its viability. It is incredibly important to say that this examinership process always looks for ways to protect jobs and the company, ensuring its viability into the future. That is the way we need to continue to talk about Wellman International. We must talk about it as something we hope will be there long into the future.

The foremost concern of the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Government is the potential impact on employees and their families during this difficult and uncertain time. As I said at the outset, I have spoken to quite a number of them since this announcement was made. People who are coming towards the end of their working careers are concerned about their pensions. There are second generations of some families working in Wellman International who have much younger families. They are also concerned about where their income will come from in the future. I can confirm that the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment received collective redundancy notifications from Wellman International Limited on 6 June, details of which are for the company to disclose. However, Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect and support workers where collective redundancies are proposed by an employer. The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes certain legal obligations in these situations, including the requirement to consult and provide information to employee representatives for a 30-day period before any notice of redundancy can issue. The consultation with employee representatives should include the possibility of avoiding the proposed redundancies, reducing the number of employees affected or mitigating the consequences. The proposed collective redundancy must also be notified to the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place. Furthermore, the Government provides a range of supports to employees facing job losses. The Intreo services of the Department of Social Protection can assist with income supports and relevant employment and training opportunities where needed.

I would like to talk about this in more positive terms. I hope that the examinership process provides a viable proposition for a new buyer to come in.

I am sorry. I did not realise I was over my time. I will revert further.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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The Minister of State did not answer any of my questions with concrete solutions. She has a lot of hope and talks a lot about hope. The Government said it was well aware of what was happening. If it was well aware, why did it continue pumping taxpayers' money into a business it knew was going into examinership?

These workers are supporting families. They poured years of their lives and dedication into the Wellman company. Thoughts and prayers are a nice platitude but they mean nothing to families who are wondering how they will pay for their weekly shopping. Instead of the Government offering sympathies, it needs to look at how it can intervene, either by finding a new investor or by ensuring redundancy packages are offered to workers. The Government has to get out and fight for these people. They are turning to their Ministers for help and for someone to stand up and fight for them. Tea and sympathy are not what they are looking for.

Is the Government taking the necessary legislative steps to close the loophole that allows this to happen?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome members of the historical society from Oldcastle. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the visitors in the Gallery. I have no doubt that some people in the Oldcastle area are affected by the sad news about Wellman International.

I have been in touch and have been very active. Let us be clear. I am not paying platitudes to anyone, as I feel strongly about these people. I represent them. I was elected to do so and I will certainly do that. I have met them and am meeting them. On a daily basis, I am in touch with workers and their representatives. The Senator can be assured of that.

I have also written to the Department of Social Protection and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and asked him to set up a working group in his Department to ensure that the necessary supports are put in place, if it comes to that. I hope it will not, but it is inevitable that a certain number of jobs will be lost. We have to be factual about these cases when we talk about them. As I said, the Minister, Peter Burke, is keeping a close eye on this.

The work of IDA Ireland is incredible. It has worked closely with Wellman International and the representatives there over the past two years. The Government has not kept pouring money into a company that was failing. It has worked closely with IDA Ireland to ensure the latter provided whatever supports it could to make sure that Wellman International did not go out of business and to look at the idea of rescaling the business. I assure the Senator that I am liaising not only with officials in my Department, but also officials in IDA Ireland who are liaising with Wellman International. I will continue to do that and to liaise closely with workers and management in Wellman International.