Task forces cold comfort to workers

The 390 jobs lost at Waterford Crystal in Dungarvan are a deadly blow to the local community and a warning to the rest of the country.

While there are still glowing predictions that the economy will grow by as much as 5% next year, our manufacturing industries are in trouble as a result of international competition.

The closure of the Dungarvan plant is a deadly blow to the locality, and the sense of anger and grievance was palpable among the workers being made redundant.

Inevitably, the closure will lead to other job losses in Dungarvan, because there will be 10 million less circulating in the local economy annually.

A further 95 jobs will be lost in the company’s headquarters in Waterford city. The company is scrapping another 1,310 jobs worldwide.

Waterford Crystal is a prestigious company producing luxury goods , but it has suffered seriously as a result of the massive decline in the value of the dollar against the euro. This has led to a sharp increase of as much as 50% in the cost of Waterford Crystal in the United States.

Although 485 jobs have been shed, the company will still employ 970 people in Waterford. But there seemed to be a veiled warning in the remarks of company executive John Foley, who said that rising costs were a major factor in the decision to close the Dungarvan plant. Non-wage inflation has driven up costs by 19% in the past three years, he said. If this is allowed to continue, then other jobs will also be in jeopardy.

The spiralling cost of insurance, generated by our litigation culture, and the rise in house prices have contributed to a vicious circle of inflation, which has undoubtedly damaged our competitiveness.

Mr Foley noted that the comparative costs of production in Germany are already 10% to 15% cheaper than Ireland.

Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Mícheál Martin and Transport Minister Martin Cullen, who is the local Dáil deputy, said yesterday that there is an urgent need to mobilise all relevant State agencies, such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and FÁS to mount a strong effort to attract new investment.

The ministers’ remarks raise serious questions because the latest closure should not have been a surprise to anyone. The various agencies should already have been at work preparing for the problems generated by

yesterday’s announcement. Surely it is not too much to expect proper forward planning from such agencies?

One of the first things in tackling problems is to recognise and anticipate them.

If the Government is only now suggesting the establishment of some kind of task force, it has clearly failed to anticipate the problem and is merely reacting with a cosmetic response.

After each closure a task force is announced, but they seem to achieve very little in replacing lost jobs, or delivering replacement industries. Placebo politics is cold comfort for the people of Dungarvan.