Ministers ‘must help’ Dell and Aer Lingus staff

GOVERNMENT ministers Willie O’Dea and Peter Power have been urged to throw their full support behind Dell’s workforce and Aer Lingus staff in Shannon.

The call to Limerick’s two ministers came from Fine Gael TD deputy Michael Noonan.

“They must use what influence they have in Government, and at the Cabinet table, to safeguard thousands of jobs now at risk in both the Shannon and Limerick region,” he said. “These are uncertain times for both workforces and they need to know they have the full political support of their elected representatives.”

Mr Noonan said the mid-west had taken some devastating job blows over the past number of years and it is imperative that Limerick’s ministers do all they can and all that was necessary to maintain jobs in the region.

“We are still unclear as to what the position is with Dell. Nobody in Government is saying anything that would encourage confidence that the jobs are safe. The Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan has yet to come out in full support of the Dell Workforce. All she has done over the past number of weeks is to hide behind the IDA.”

Almost one-in-six people in Limerick, he said, are believed to have a family member, relative or a close friend employed either directly by Dell or by a company supplier.

“For almost six months now, we’ve had silence from the Government and Tánaiste in particular. While I appreciate the need for confidentiality, six months of failing to quash the rumours about the uncertainty surrounding Dell is not acceptable.”

In relation to Shannon, he said the Government was giving the same line as when the Shannon/Heathrow route was lost.

“They just say Aer Lingus is a private company and the Government cannot interfere. We have heard all this before and we ended up losing the route. There is an obligation on both local ministers to get the Government, as a shareholder in Aer Lingus, to lobby the company management about the serious concerns of the people of Limerick and the workers in Shannon over the proposal brought out by Aer Lingus management which would see over 200 jobs lost in Shannon.”