First, I salute the workers at Tara Mines, who have mounted a protest today. The way they are being treated by their employer, Boliden, is horrendous. They are facing shortly the loss of their jobs and wages and the huge impact that will have on their community. The measure is supposedly temporary, but they are not being given any date or timeframe for when the mine will be back in operation. Tara Mines has been profitable through the past 13 years. No real justification has been put forward by the company for this action. What will the Government do to support these workers? Will it put pressure on the company to continue the mines in operation with full wages for the workers? If the company does not do so, will the Government heed the call from Unite and others to take Tara Mines into public ownership in order to ensure jobs and skills are protected and retain this vital natural asset?

The option of taking it into public ownership is not on the agenda. Our major concern is with the impact on staff and their families. This includes 650 staff who are employed directly by the company in Navan, but also staff in companies impacted that have contracts with Tara Mines. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, met the management team from Tara Mines last week. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and officials, along with Enterprise Ireland, are engaging with the company to try to work out what assistance can be given to introduce efficiencies and reduce costs, including energy costs, within state aid parameters. Every effort is being made to see what we can do to get Tara Mines reopened. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, met the trade unions on Monday afternoon. We are very conscious of their concerns. I refer to the WRC meeting this week which unions and management attended.