I want to raise a breaking matter which is of great significance for people in both the Shannon and Limerick areas. Molex, a large employer that has been located in Shannon for over 48 years, announced today that it is looking to close its facility at the end of 2020, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs. This is of huge significance, particularly for the workers and their families. I am conscious that workers are currently being informed of this decision by Molex so I do not wish to go into it in detail. Suffice it to say that I met with the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, about the matter in the last half an hour. The Government first became aware of this late last night and the Minister had a discussion with the global CEO of Molex today. She is very concerned and is aware of the impact this could have, particularly on the 500 workers in Molex, their families, and the Shannon and Limerick regions.

Many of the people working in Molex live in Limerick city, which I represent, and I am conscious of the potential impact of this closure. Every effort must now be made to engage with Molex at a global level, and IDA Ireland should also engage with Molex to see whether new, alternative, creative jobs can be provided in the area with Molex. Molex is part and parcel of what Shannon and the region are about. It has been there since 1971, which is nearly 50 years. I am conscious of the impact of this breaking news on the families involved. The key thing is that the Minister is engaging with the company and with IDA Ireland. It is a very difficult time for Molex staff and workers in Shannon. Every effort must be made by IDA Ireland to engage with Molex to see whether it can provide alternative jobs in Shannon. I will continue to bring this up with the Minister, the Government and IDA Ireland to ensure we get a proper resolution for the staff. This is a shock for the staff and people in the region. I want to put on the record that the Government is very supportive of what those people are currently going through and direct engagement is happening at the highest level between the Minister, the CEO of Molex and IDA Ireland. Every effort will now be made to ensure that alternative jobs can be provided, ideally with Molex in other areas, and that the interests of the workers are represented. This is a huge blow for the region and the Government is looking to ensure it is addressed in the best possible way, in the interests of workers, their jobs and their families.

Tugaim 100% tacaíocht don phointe a rinne an Seanadóir Ó Domhnaill mar gheall ar Molex. Tá mé ag iarraidh labhairt faoin ghné chéanna den ábhar.

I have asked the Leader on a number of occasions if we could invite the Minister to the House to discuss the document our committee put together on small and medium businesses. I do not have a date yet. I have asked him on three or four occasions in the past four or five months. The Government is either serious about small and medium businesses or it is not. We need to have a full discussion in this House on small and medium businesses.

To respond to Senator O'Donnell's point, rather than having a knee-jerk reaction to the announcement that Molex is leaving Shannon in a year's time with the loss of 500 jobs, we need to consider developing a strategy for small and medium businesses. We are not doing that. In my view we do not have one. The small and medium businesses I know do not see any proper direction coming from Government. This report that people, including the Leader, were party to and participated in gives a strategy and a direction. I would like an open and honest debate about that as soon as possible. I ask the Leader to ask the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to come into the House and give us a date when we can have that debate.

Ar phointe éile, more than a year ago I asked the Leader to invite the Minister to the House for a debate on RTÉ. Where is RTÉ at in terms of its finances and overall position? There is deep concern among the employees of RTÉ in respect of their future. RTÉ is significantly in debt. I understand it has lost in the region of €8 million this year. It has lost the rights to a number of sporting events like the Six Nations and others. RTÉ is a public broadcasting station and it is very important to the entire country. The Minister should come into the House to discuss it. When Deputy Naughten was the Minister with responsibility for this area I asked that he come into the House. I was told he would be brought in but it has not happened.