Minister Kelleher invokes EU support for DELL Workers

Mr Billy Kelleher, T.D., Minister for Labour Affairs today (Friday 23^rd January 2009) had detailed discussions with Vladimir Spidla, the European Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. These discussions took place in the course of an informal European Council meeting held in Luhacovice in the Czech Republic.

The Minister took the opportunity to explore the contribution that the European Globalisation Fund might make in addressing the needs of DELL and other redundant workers in the Mid-West region. He also made suggestions on how the existing European Regulation that governs the workings of the European Global Fund might be amended. Discussions on such amendments have recently commenced in Brussels and the Minister raised with the Commissioner the prospect of expediting those discussions.

Speaking shortly after his meeting with Commissioner Spidla, Minister Kelleher said; “The key task of the European Globalisation Fund is to assist in addressing economic dislocation and its impact on local, regional and national economies. The scale of redundancies in DELL and more widely in the Mid-West region has brought such economic dislocation to that area and particularly to Limerick.

In this context our discussions were timely and, hopefully, will inform plans that will materially improve the prospects of redundant DELL workers and others under threat of loosing their jobs. Commissioner Spidla has already committed to do his utmost to ensure that the resources of the European Globalisation Fund –with a budget at present of up to €500 million each year - contribute to improving the job prospects and other opportunities open to DELL workers. He reiterated and reinforced that commitment today.”

Now only two years in operation, the European Globalisation Fund is a resource that provides labour intervention support directly to workers and is in addition to, the hundreds of millions of euro that are already committed to Ireland from the European Social Fund up to 2013 and afterwards. The fund operates by contributing funds to the Irish Government’s specific labour market interventions including assistance with advice guidance, job searching, mobility supports and training for the workers affected.

The Minister concluded by saying “While there are no guarantees of a successful application under the scheme, the Irish government is strongly pressing the case for the mid-west region and we are encouraged by the initial response of the Commission in that regard. I also took the opportunity to acknowledge to Commissioner Spidla the fact that since our accession to the European Community in 1973, the European Social Fund has supported training and education programmes to the tune of about €5 billion which has given learning and advancement opportunities that have over the decades been eagerly grasped by hundreds of thousands of our people”.

ENDS/LA311