People trust PayPal. Millions of people give PayPal their bank account numbers, credit card numbers and debit card numbers to serve an account so they can purchase online. In return, they are promised by PayPal that this is done in a safe and secure manner. Last Tuesday, PayPal announced 307 job losses - 172 in Dundalk in my constituency and 135 in Blanchardstown in the Tánaiste's constituency. On top of this, in April 2021 there were 131 job losses, again in Dundalk and Dublin. In 13 months, 438 jobs were lost out of 2,800. In 2021, workers were offered a redundancy package or other jobs within the company. This time there is no voluntary redundancy. The workers do not know what is happening and they are very concerned about their future. The rumours circulating that these jobs are going to India do not help.

These employees trusted PayPal. Last year, PayPal reported over $25 billion in revenue, up 18% on the previous year, with 426 million users in the last quarter of 2021. Some 426 million people have given the company their personal bank details and it is now turning around and making 307 loyal and supportive workers redundant with the stroke of a pen. Millions were invested by this country to help PayPal set up here. What will the Government do about this unexpected announcement? What clarity can the Tánaiste give these workers who must go home and ask their families how they will pay their mortgages, utility bills and food bills, for education for their children and for transport?

In 2003, this country received the good news that PayPal was coming to Ireland to set up its operation here. We invested €15 million in its European centre of excellence in Blanchardstown in 2009. In 2012, 1,000 jobs at the international operations centre in Dundalk were announced, and another 400 jobs were added in 2014. At present, over 2,000 people in Ireland are employed by PayPal and everyone appreciates their job. With 438 job losses in 13 months, what can the Government do to help the 2,000 remaining workers in view of the loyalty and commitment they are giving? PayPal contacted me on Tuesday and informed me of the loss of 172 jobs in my constituency, beginning on 27 June through to 19 September, and said this is due the new structure and needs of its customers. It has given me no more information. I tried to contact PayPal again this morning and basically it just fobbed me off. PayPal asks its customers to trust it. We ask PayPal to treat these workers, who have given it their commitment and loyalty, with respect.

What can the Tánaiste offer the 307 PayPal workers who are going to lose their jobs and the other 2,000 workers who still have their jobs at present? I do not use the word "trust" lightly. Enough is enough.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I heard with great regret last Monday that PayPal was going to let 307 staff go, 135 from the Dublin office in Blanchardstown in my constituency and 175 from its offices in Dundalk. I spoke to the company's representatives earlier this week and they assured me that they remain committed to their 2,000 other staff and will continue to employ approximately 2,000 people in Ireland. They said they had to make this decision as part of a general restructuring of the company, with a reduction in the number of roles not just in Ireland but perhaps in some other countries too. Unfortunately, the redundancies are unavoidable and I express my sympathy to those who are affected. It must have been a big shock for people to hear that their roles were being made redundant. Consultation is happening with the staff today. The Deputy will appreciate that for very good reasons the company wants to consult and inform staff before it informs public representatives. That is the right thing to do, and it will do that today.

I have received an assurance from the company that the redundancy package it offers will be a good one. I do not know the details of that yet, but I will follow up on it. It is important that if people are being let go, they get a decent redundancy package to help them to get on with their lives and seek employment elsewhere in the economy.

Regarding what the Government can do, it is stepping in to ensure workers know what their entitlements are when it comes to social welfare and other matters, and also to know what their options are when it comes to searching for jobs. Most of these staff are very well skilled and they will be able to find jobs quite quickly in the same sector, where there are many vacancies. However, we need to help them and connect them with those vacancies. They will also be given advice on what is available in terms of a return to education, a return to training and the possibility of setting up their own business. The Government will click in and make sure all that is done.

As regards the nature of the redundancies, I wish to clarify that from the letter the company sent to the Department. It states clearly in that letter that if redundancy cannot be avoided following collective consultation with impacted employees, compulsive redundancies will be required. That collective consultation is occurring now. It is required under law. As a consequence of that I hope it will be possible to ensure that most of these redundancies are voluntary and that compulsive redundancies can be avoided.

I agree with the Tánaiste that the most important thing here is communication. I welcome that PayPal is going to engage with its workers today. Rumours of these jobs being transferred to India do not help at all. The Tánaiste knows more than most people the amount of money the Government and the Industrial Development Agency, IDA, invested into PayPal coming here. It is very important that the 2,000 workers who remain in PayPal are looked after as well because they are looking for some type of security. Losing 438 jobs in the short period of 13 months does not seem to be realistic.

On behalf of the workers in PayPal, I ask the Tánaiste and the Department to engage with PayPal to see what type of commitment they can get to try to save as many of these jobs as possible and perhaps to relocate these jobs. In addition, and importantly, can PayPal communicate to the remaining 2,000 workers what its future plans are, given this is a company that returned revenue of €25 billion last year and given the number of people who trust PayPal? The Tánaiste has a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks. I ask him to communicate with the Deputies in the area and to keep them updated.

The Deputy can be assured that I will continue to engage on this matter. PayPal has given us the commitment that it will be retaining 2,000 staff in Ireland, which is very significant, and that it will put a good redundancy package in place for the staff who are being let go. The Government will provide the staff who are being let go with whatever support it can provide in respect of education, training, other employment options, welfare and so forth.

Looking at the wider picture of employment at present, there was a very significant announcement from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, this morning. There are now 2.5 million people at work in Ireland. That is more than ever before in the history of the State. We are approaching full employment, which is a job for everybody who wants one. That is very positive. In the last year, employment increased in all regions in Ireland. The biggest increase was in the south west at 17% and the second biggest was in the south east, which was previously a region of high unemployment, at 13.6%. They are followed by Dublin and the mid-west. There were increases in employment in 12 out of 14 sectors. That is a very positive overall picture in terms of employment, with 2.5 million people at work, which is more than ever previously, increased employment in every region and almost getting to the point of full employment, where there is a job for everyone who wants one. That is not something that many countries can say.