Govt Needs To Be Proactive To Safeguard Jobs At Intel - Tóibín

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Peadar Tóibín TD, has said the government needs to be proactive with regards safeguarding jobs at the Intel sites in Ireland.

Deputy Tóibín said: "Intel is a massive employer in the state. It contributes significantly in terms of wages, consumption of services, business rates and the technology development of the Irish economy. It’s important that the Acting Minister for Enterprise quickly engages with senior management of the company with the view to safeguarding as many jobs as possible.

"It is hoped that considering significant recent investment into the Irish sites, that many of the jobs should be safe. However Ireland cannot take anything for granted especially at the peripheral Intel sites located in County Clare.

"Foreign Direct Investment is an important and welcome part of the Irish economy. We must continue to vigorously pursue FDI into the future. However fears of job losses in Intel put the over reliance of this state on FDI into sharp perspective. The Irish economy is extremely unbalanced. Nearly 90% of exports are from foreign multinationals. This makes Ireland highly vulnerable to economic shocks such as exchange rates, interest rates or even a new American president.

"The indigenous enterprise sector with far stickier jobs has for so long been the poor relation with regards Irish enterprise policy. This needs to change. We need to emulate comparable countries such as Denmark and Austria in developing the size and export capability of indigenous firms."