POLITICAL REACTION:THE ANNOUNCEMENT by Dell that 1,900 of its employees in Limerick will be made redundant was described by Taoiseach Brian Cowen as a major blow to the mid-west region.
Mr Cowen said it had resulted in a very difficult day for Limerick and that he was very conscious of the effect it would have on the workers who would lose their jobs and their families.
However, he emphasised Dell's strong commitment to Ireland since 1992 and the fact that it would remain as a very significant employer in the region and in Ireland, retaining a total of some 2,000 jobs in both Limerick and Cherrywood, Dublin.
Speaking to reporters outside Government Buildings, the Taoiseach said the task facing the Government and State agencies such as the IDA was exploring how Dell could be helped to make further investment in Ireland during the next phase of its development.
"There has been a good experience in the past where the IDA, when companies were moving their manufacture out of Ireland, how they were able to refashion or refocus investment in Ireland subsequently by the same companies in different areas, higher-value areas.
"That has happened and I believe it can happen, I hope, with Dell. But clearly there are no guarantees. You have to fight for every job. And you have to put the business case. That's what the IDA has been doing.
"There will be a meeting [today] with Dell Corporation . . . to see what way we can fit in as a country and what way this region can fit into the future strategy for Dell going forward.
"When you look at the other companies who have followed that path, such as Microsoft and Intel, we have built the next phase of the development with those companies in Ireland. They are different types of jobs, certainly. We have to look at reskilling and retraining those who are unfortunately losing their jobs today and in the months ahead."
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said he was extremely saddened by the news but as a local TD he was fully committed to securing alternative employment and investment for Limerick.
He said the retention of 1,000 jobs by Dell in Limerick provided a strong basis for a future return to being one of the largest employers in the region.
Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan said the Government must now declare Limerick an unemployment emergency area. Mr Noonan, who represents the Limerick East constituency, claimed that the Government had handled the situation very badly.
"It knew for at least a year that many Dell jobs were at risk and knew for at least three months that all manufacturing at Dell, together with 1,900 jobs, was being transferred to Poland. But the Government sat on its hands and has done nothing effective."
Jan O'Sullivan of Labour, also a TD representing Limerick East, said many Dell workers did not believe that everything possible had been done to save the jobs.
"The trip to Texas by Ministers O'Dea and Coughlan in particular appears to have been a question of 'too little, too late'," she said. "The priority now has to be on the creation of new jobs and retraining opportunities."
Arthur Morgan of Sinn Féin said the Government's approach had been lacklustre. "For months it has been clear that Dell was reviewing its position in Ireland and yet the Government failed to come up with an alternative that could have saved these 1,900 manufacturing jobs," he said.
