BNY Wexford closure
George Lawlor challenged the closure of BNY's Wexford facility and asked what the IDA had done before the decision was made. The Taoiseach said he would raise it with the Minister, noted disappointment at the loss, and said companies usually make such decisions themselves.
In January of this year BNY announced it was to close its Wexford facility with 95% of its 310 Wexford-based employees to transfer elsewhere or be made redundant. Significantly, BNY operations in Dublin and Cork are not impacted by these cuts. The first question to be answered is: why Wexford? Clearly the cost of both property and operating is higher in Dublin. What discussions did the IDA have with BNY in advance of this decision? The Minister, Deputy Burke, promised in the immediate aftermath of the announcement that he would do everything possible to support affected staff and to ensure options were available to the 310 individuals and their families. Will the Minister be clear today in setting out what the position is more than two months after the announcement? Financial services are one of Wexford's economic focuses. I would like a clear commitment from both the Taoiseach and the Minister, and through him the IDA, that every possible effort is being made to find a replacement company in the financial services sector to replace BNY. Do the Minister or the Taoiseach have any progress to report on this?
Comment on this
The Ministers is not here. However, I will raise this issue with him. I can well recall there was a determined attempt nearly two decades ago to create a financial services presence, hub and footprint in the south east, in particular in Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. State Street opened in Kilkenny. To a certain extent that got traction. It is disappointing that BNY has made the decision it has made. I was not involved in the discussions between the IDA and the company. The company generally tends to make these decisions itself. It may be to do with trends within the company or particular issues. However, I will talk to the Minister in respect of the employees. We will certainly do everything we can to get further financial services investment into Wexford. We will also see whether we can help the employees to secure alternative employment either through Enterprise Ireland companies or through further investments via the IDA.