Local TD Denis Naughten has questioned the Jobs Minister, Richard Bruton TD, on action being taken to secure alternative employment for the MBNA staff laid off last month.
Raising the issue in the Dáil, Denis Naughten said: “While it is all well and good to see job creation and job announcements on the east coast, the reality is that parts of my constituency have been decimated by unemployment, particularly in a town such as Carrick-on-Shannon.”
He went on to ask Minister Bruton “what progress has been made in moving forward on the preliminary inquiries about the facility from both from foreign-owned and Irish-owned businesses?”
Responding to the question Minister Bruton stated: “There are a number (of leads) both on the Enterprise Ireland side and the IDA Ireland side. These are still active and the leads are still very much alive.”
He went on to say: “The Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, has also had meetings on opportunities either in the financial services or procurement area. We are actively pursuing every opportunity; it is not a case of there being any loss of attention to it.”
In conclusion Deputy Naughten pressed the Minister to redouble efforts over the coming three months to see if progress can be made in sourcing an alternative employer for the site.
See debate here: http://ow.ly/G8NbK