Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on the work of both his Department and the IDA on the issue of the planned closure of a plant (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30099/24]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Minister will be well aware of Becton Dickinson's plans to close its Drogheda operation, which has been there for 60 years. I place on record my gratitude to the Minister for having met some of the local TDs, including me, last week, for his continued engagement with IDA Ireland on this matter and for meeting the trade unions and shop stewards yesterday. He might outline what he plans to do about this matter in the coming weeks.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. The recent announcement from Becton Dickinson, BD, to close its Drogheda facility over the next two and a half years is extremely disappointing, especially for the staff and their families impacted by the decision. I assure the Deputy the Government is on hand to support those employees as they seek alternative employment. IDA Ireland has regularly engaged with BD on potential supports to its four Irish sites, including that in Drogheda. In particular, supports for staff training and upskilling were outlined, along with sustainability and decarbonisation initiatives. On being notified of the BD board decision, the IDA reaffirmed the supports available.

The IDA is committed to working with BD over the next two and a half years to market the Drogheda site to potential new IDA investors. The IDA will also highlight the skills of impacted employees with other employers in the region, given that a number of IDA client companies in the north east are recruiting.

As part of the Government's regional strategy, we will continue to target new investment for the north east, with Drogheda and Dundalk designated as regional growth centres in both the national development plan and Project Ireland 2040. Furthermore, the IDA has added two landbanks in Drogheda and Dundalk to be marketed to potential future investors in the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, EI, portfolios.

I will discuss the BD decision and the company's wider plans in Ireland with the BD leadership team when I meet them on my US trade mission next week. I do realise the stress this is causing, with families having worked for generations at the plant, and what it means to the fabric of Drogheda. I met representatives of SIPTU and the shop steward Trevor was very impressive, outlining the plan and what he thinks went wrong. I agreed to take a submission from him to bring to New York next week.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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SIPTU will respond to the Minister’s request to provide it with a submission. I am grateful he agreed to meet the trade unions, especially the shop stewards, including Trevor McGinn, who is a very impressive shop steward representing the workers at that plant. He knows the operation inside out.

The concerns workers have are that they have not been given the opportunity themselves to make the case for their jobs to be retained and for BD to be retained in Drogheda. Later today, I will meet the UK and Ireland general manager and make the case that BD's position should be reviewed and that the trade unions and workers should be given the opportunity to make the case for these very important jobs to be retained in Drogheda. This is the only IDA-backed manufacturing facility of scale left in Ireland's largest town. The IDA has significant work to do to attract foreign direct investment in Drogheda and it needs to work harder. As we know, it is much easier to retain a job than it is to attract another one, and that is where our focus needs to be.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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It was a privilege yesterday to meet Trevor, the representatives of SIPTU and the team, who are working so hard on behalf of employees on the ground, and to see their passion and what the plant means to the fabric of Drogheda because it is a very significant employer. I did agree to take a submission from Trevor but I was equally clear, as I have to be, that I was in no way raising expectations because we have to be honest with people who are in a distressing situation when they get news such as this. I reaffirmed our full commitment to working with all the staff members there and to bringing their views to the global headquarters in New York, where we will point out some of the key issues Trevor, the shop steward, and the team have been raising in connection with management, along with lines they think should continue.

Again, however, we are being very honest. I can point out these matters but it is a decision the board has made. It has reaffirmed that decision with its global board and we have to respect that. Equally, however, Drogheda has a lot of bright areas on which we work, such as the 157 acres of landbank between it and Dundalk, and we are prepared to work as hard as we can in the coming weeks.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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It was just over two years ago that BD announced a €62 million investment in the Drogheda plant. At least in terms of its corporate communications, its proposition is that it contemplates 110 redundancies up to March next year and the additional 67 out to the fourth quarter of 2026. That is a long way away, so the case can be cogently made that market conditions can change, which we need to prevail upon BD, along with the need for it to work with the trade unions, the IDA, the Government and, indeed, Opposition TDs to secure as many of these jobs as we can. I do not accept that this is a fait accompli, notwithstanding what the Minister has said about the limitations he has. I appreciate he is seeking to manage expectations, which is the responsible step to take, and that he will take this case to the chief executive in New York next week, but when we look at Drogheda, there is a huge imbalance in our county. There are 23 IDA investments in Dundalk and only nine in Drogheda and the scale of those investments is much smaller, in terms of the job cohorts, in Drogheda than in Dundalk. A lot of work needs to be done on that. BD received investment of €807,000 in training grants from the IDA only last year.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I absolutely understand how important this is and give my firm commitment that I will do my very best when I meet senior management, including the group chief executive, next week. The BD site is utility rich and has a lot going for it. We will work on it with the IDA to ensure we will get a strong tenant in there. Deputies Nash and O'Dowd have consistently raised the need for investment there and we will work to realise that. The new 50,000 sq. m advanced factory unit, which now has planning permission, will be central to that, as the additional landbank will be, to bring good, high-quality jobs to the region and grow the economy there further. We are fully committed to that. I will revert to the Deputy regarding how next week goes.