The Deputy is eating into his colleagues' time.

I wish to support Tara Mines workers and share my disappointment at the failure of the management of Boliden Tara Mines to release the plans for the reopening of the mines. We all know the management has plans; it needs to share them with the unions and workers. The management has not yet provided a date for the resumption of operations, leaving hundreds of workers and their families in a state of uncertainty in the run-up to Christmas. It is a disgrace that workers have been temporarily laid off for 130 days and still have no return date. The prolonged closure of the mine has added undue stress to the lives of hardworking miners and their families. There has been a failure by the management of Boliden Tara Mines. After weeks of negotiation, it has failed to agree a facilitation process that can find a path forward with unions. Is the Government actively engaged in talks with management? If there has not been such dialogue, I urge immediate interaction in order to determine a clear path forward. Workers should not be treated like this.

There is an ongoing dialogue between my Department and management and unions at Tara Mines. Our objective is to get the mine open again and get people back working. A number of things need to be put in place before that can happen. The union leadership knows that and has been very responsible in how it has responded to the process so far. The situation is very difficult for the families that are impacted. I assure the Deputy we are working at all levels, with management, with the owners of the parent company, with the European Commission and with unions. That conversation will continue until, we hope, we can bring it to a successful conclusion.