In the Dáil this morning, Richard Boyd Barrett TD appealed to the Minister for Jobs, Richard Bruton to intervene to protect the jobs and associated skills of Lufthansa workers as he believes this is a strategically important industry with considerable growth potential.

The Rathcoole based airmotive plant has been owned by Lufthansa since it bought the plant from Aer Lingus and it is due to close with the loss of over 400 jobs in February.

The Government has indicated that the aircraft industry is a priority area as parts of their commitment on jobs, a point re-stated by the Minister in the dáil this morning. Given this stated commitment to jobs in this industry it makes no sense to allow this skills base to be lost and the plant to be dismantled.

 There are also serious questions regarding the amount of IDA funds and other public money received by Lufthansa and the conditions attached to those moneys and these questions need to be answered.

€40 million in public money was injected into Lufthansa when they took over the Rathcoole plant in 2009 and the workforce had the understanding that this money was conditional on a long-term commitment to the plant in Rathcoole and the industry in Ireland.

The workers believe Lufthansa’s closure of the plant at this time represents a breach of the conditions surrounding the government’s cash injection and that this money should be retrieved and the jobs kept.

Richard Boyd Barrett said, “There is huge irony that despite the government’s big policy of maintaining the 12.5% corporate tax rate and big public subsidies to foreign corporations, that we have jobs migrating to Germany, a country with much higher corporation tax rates. Clearly maintaining low corporation tax rates does little to secure and protect jobs.

What is really required is more direct and assertive intervention and support by the government for this strategic industry and the jobs and skills associated with them.

The government can’t in all seriousness on the one hand proclaim this is a strategic industry and a growing industry with the potential for much needed jobs while 400 skilled workers lose their and the doors are closed on this vital plant in Rathcoole”.