I raise the pending closure of the Merck facility in Arklow, whose foreign investment we formally welcome. Merck is a huge multinational global company with a turnover of over £2.2 billion in the last quarter of this year. It has also been supported warmly by IDA Ireland, but the initial redundancy package put to the workers is simply an insult to over 100 employees. We now have to go down the WRC route, which is hugely stressful for the workforce. This workforce is highly skilled and some have given decades of service. All they simply want is fairness with a fair redundancy package and fair pensions. Sometimes large companies take over and close down units like this, and treat site workers simply as stats, but these are genuine people. They are people who have applied for mortgages, who are in their elder years and may not get employment again. I ask that everything be done to help these workers in their fight for fairness.

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