Tara Mines is the biggest lead and zinc mine in Europe. It is one of the largest employers in Meath and its closure has been one of the biggest economic blows to the east midlands area for a long period of time. A key element of the closure was the fact that electricity prices in this country are the highest in Europe. Tara Mines management has given a plan to workers. That plan is a race to the bottom for income and terms and conditions. It seeks more than 200 redundancies and possibly reduces the working month to a three-week month for workers. Zinc in Meath is an Irish national resource. Tara Mines has made a handsome profit over the years from that resource and from the work of its staff over that period of time. Yet, the workers are now faced with a choice between the full closure of the mine or damaging and painful concessions at Tara Mines. What material actions has the Taoiseach taken in the last seven months to protect the workers in Tara Mines?

I thank the Deputy. I do not believe this is just about electricity prices, which as the Deputy will know are now falling and falling rapidly for businesses. It is also about lead and zinc prices, which ultimately determine how much the company gets for what it produces. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney and his team, alongside our enterprise agencies, have been engaging with the company to see what financial and other support the Government could put in place for the company to reopen the mine, which is the objective we want to achieve, and then to consider the Tara deep resource, which would give the mine sustainability for decades.

The supports that are available to the workers are those that are available for anyone who has lost their job. They include training and education, help setting up a business, and social welfare. We are improving those. The Deputy will be aware of the plans of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to bring in pay-related benefits precisely to recognise people like the Tara Mines workers who have been paying into the PRSI system for years and should get a higher level of jobseeker's benefit if they need it.