Sir, - We, the members of the Sean Walsh Fianna Fail Cumann based in Killinarden, Tallaght, call on the Government to ensure that the Packard workers are properly supported arising out of the tragic closure of the Packard plant in Tallaght.
Our deputy leader and spokesperson on enterprise and employment, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, supported by local Fianna Fail TD, Chris Flood, continuously pressed the Government to support the workers in Packard and to plan for the possibility that Packard would close with such a horrific loss of jobs.
The immediate response of Minister of State, Pat Rabbitte to the Packard closure announcement was that the Government was shell shocked. Did the Government not know that the plant was in trouble and why weren't the Government planning for such a possible eventuality?
Fianna Fail calls on the Government, the owners of Packard and the appropriate State agencies to do everything possible to ensure that a large number of new jobs are created on the existing Packard site, this will ensure that their skills and commitment to work will not be dispersed to the four winds. - Yours, etc.,
Chairman,
Fianna Fail,
Dublin South West Cumann,
Killinarden,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.