Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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22. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the outcome of discussions that he had with Lufthansa Technik in relation to saving the hundreds of jobs at the company's plant; the reason for the closure, including addressing the level of State investment that had been made in the facility over the past number of years; the future plans for the site and buildings; the options that exist for alternative employment; and if he raised the fact that the company approvals were transferred from the IAA to its German counterpart during the year, which would indicate that they had made a decision to close substantially earlier than the announcement. [2777/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Prior to the closure announcement I met senior international management of this company several times and discussed issues relating to this plant in detail. Over recent years IDA Ireland held constant engagement with the company in an effort to help them deal with various issues and challenges. Unfortunately the company were faced with declining revenues and shrinking international opportunities and, following an extensive company review which was carried out, they took the decision to close several plants worldwide, including the Irish engine casing facility in Rathcoole. Lufthansa’s other aircraft maintenance operation based in Shannon continues to operate.

The reasons for this closure are complex; modern aircraft engines require less maintenance, the aircraft manufacturers and the engine manufacturers now play a greater role in determining where maintenance is carried out, competition from lower cost Asian centres is intense and it is, or course, a very mobile and globalised industry. There have been new entrants into the sector and, in addition, currency movements have further increased competitive pressures.

In relation to State Investment in the Rathcoole operation over the years, total grant aid paid to the company in respect of Employment, Capital, Research and Development and Training since 1978 was €10.7m. There is no contingent liability to the State in respect of these grants.

Regarding the site and buildings, while the Lufthansa company own key parts of the plant, other external companies own some peripheral parts of the overall site. A potential new operator would obviously have to come to an acceptable arrangement with the current owners. The IDA is actively pursuing the attraction of potential new investors to take over the plant and have created a profile of the workforce and their skills, for marketing purposes.

With regard to licences/permits, maintenance organisation approvals are issued in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 2042/2003 of 20 November 2003 as amended, annex II, Part 145. Up until December 2011, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) approved and provided the required certification for Lufthansa Airmotive Ireland Ltd for its Irish based operation. However, in accordance with the legislation (EU Regulation 216/2008), a single approval can include several different plants in different countries, i.e. approval from the Member State of the principle place of business is sufficient for a subsidiary in another Member State. The IAA approval certificate for Lufthansa Airmotive Ireland Ltd was returned to the IAA in December 2011, following a rationalisation program to bring all of the Lufthansa subsidiaries under German authority approval. This process commenced in July 2011.