Liberty IT job losses
After a brief GAA aside, Deputy Ó Murchú raised a constituent’s concerns about job losses and outsourcing at Liberty IT, including possible losses in Cavan. The Tánaiste said he would speak to the relevant Minister and also noted broader work on ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence.
I take this opportunity to commend the Louth under-20s and Fergal Reel, their manager, on what was obviously a fabulous win in the Leinster final against Meath. The minors are playing in the quarter finals tonight against Westmeath in Hunterstown and I hope that goes well. We obviously have an historic injustice that needs to be dealt with at the Leinster senior final on 11 May.
Comment on this
I would think that most right-thinking people will offer support.
Let me refer to a very serious issue. It concerns one of my constituents who contacted me. She had been working for Liberty IT as part of Liberty Mutual. She believes that in her section, which is in Dublin but with an awful lot of remote working, about 100 jobs are gone, and possibly another 20 in Cavan. She would have dealt with claims related to home protection and such in the US. In a six-minute meeting, the staff were told the jobs in question would be outsourced. I suppose the fact that we are dealing with an American company – I have spoken to the Minister about it – raises questions over whether this is part of a wider issue. I ask that all the supports necessary be offered in this case and that we facilitate people’s return to employment, if that is possible.
I also have a question, possibly, on the issue of artificial intelligence. I imagine that the Tánaiste might not be able to answer in full at this point but addressing the issue is absolutely necessary.
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. I cannot really win on the GAA question because by pleasing him I could offend the Minister, Deputy McEntee. There is no winning on this other than to wish everybody well.
On the serious issue the Deputy raised – it is not that the GAA is not serious – on Liberty IT, the challenge there and, no doubt, the real worry and stress for workers, I too will speak directly to the relevant Minister, Deputy Burke, and ask that he keep in touch with the Deputy on it.
More broadly, on the issue of artificial intelligence, ensuring we provide good ethical frameworks and clarity around artificial intelligence is going to become increasingly important for workers in both the public and private sectors in the time ahead.