Joe O'Reilly Urges Government Action to Save Wellman Jobs
Joe O'Reilly urged the Leader to speak directly with the minister to secure a buyer for Wellman International, which has entered examinership, in order to preserve approximately 240 jobs. He argued that because the company is in examinership and not receivership there is potential for a sale and called for a full, proactive government response to facilitate a purchaser.
Wellman International is based in Mulligan and County Cavan and employs around 240 people, with workers drawn from Mead, East Cavan and into Louth. O'Reilly said the business is an important local employer in an area that would not be easy to attract new jobs to, making its future critical for the community.
O'Reilly asked the Leader to speak directly with the minister and to be very proactive in seeking and supporting an alternative buyer. He urged that the minister make it easy for a purchaser to buy the company and put any supports in place that could help that process.
He emphasised that the company is in examinership rather than receivership, which - he said - leaves potential for a sale. While he acknowledged anecdotal talk of "little white smoke," he stressed the need for concrete action rather than speculation.
O'Reilly called for a holistic government response, including potential planning supports and facilitation through the sale, with the primary ambition that the business be bought, supported and reopened. He also said, should redundancies occur, there must be full support for workers so they are retrained, reorganized, re-implied and assisted through any transition.
He concluded by asking for a direct response from the Leader and said the issue could be taken further in discussion, given its gravity.
Company and local impact
Wellman International is based in Mulligan and County Cavan and employs around 240 people, with workers drawn from Mead, East Cavan and into Louth. O'Reilly said the business is an important local employer in an area that would not be easy to attract new jobs to, making its future critical for the community.
Request to the Leader and the minister
O'Reilly asked the Leader to speak directly with the minister and to be very proactive in seeking and supporting an alternative buyer. He urged that the minister make it easy for a purchaser to buy the company and put any supports in place that could help that process.
Examinership vs receivership and sale potential
He emphasised that the company is in examinership rather than receivership, which - he said - leaves potential for a sale. While he acknowledged anecdotal talk of "little white smoke," he stressed the need for concrete action rather than speculation.
Proposed supports and worker protections
O'Reilly called for a holistic government response, including potential planning supports and facilitation through the sale, with the primary ambition that the business be bought, supported and reopened. He also said, should redundancies occur, there must be full support for workers so they are retrained, reorganized, re-implied and assisted through any transition.
Request for a direct response
He concluded by asking for a direct response from the Leader and said the issue could be taken further in discussion, given its gravity.
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Transcript
Leader, I want to raise a matter that is very important to the community from whence I come and that general area, and I would be anxious that you would speak directly, please, Leader, with Minister Peter Bourke on foot of this intervention. You will be aware, Leader, that Wellman International has gone into examinership, but thank for Wellman International, based in Mulligan and County Cavan, implying 240 people approximately, and implying people a good lot from Mead, but quite a number from East Cavan as well, across the counties indeed into Louth. So it's an important local employer in an area that would not be easy to attract employment in, to an enormous circumstance, which makes it critical. Now, it has gone into examinership, and given that it's not receivership, there is potential, and what I would like to see is that you would ask the Minister to be very proactive in seeking and supporting an alternative buyer, making it easy for them to buy it, for putting any sort of supports in place that could be done, and giving the full of government response in a holistic way, whether they want potential plannings, whatever, to support them through the process of buying and establishing, maintaining the jobs there. It's critical to maintain the jobs, and that's the first big ask that we try to achieve that. I gather anecdotally that there might be some little white smoke there, but we can't, you don't know, and it's all only pub talk at this point, but we need to get concrete thing going there, and I'm asking you to speak directly with the Minister, and I'd appreciate a direct response on that, given its gravity. I would also like, God forbid, that there are to be any redundancies, that there's full support for workers, and that they are retrained, reorganized, re-implied, but the big ambition is to have it bought, and have it supported, and have it reopened, and anything that can be done, whether it's to look at the existing people as it's still an examinership, but more likely to be a purchaser. So I just wait on your response, and we can take the discussion further at that point. Thank you, Leader. Thank you.