THE EUROPEAN Commission has expressed extreme concern about the job losses at Dell in Limerick and has invited the Government to apply for emergency EU aid to retrain workers.
Brussels has already made contact with officials at the Department of Enterprise to help them put together a proposal to apply for funds that could be worth up to €35 million.
"The European Commission is extremely concerned about the proposed job losses at the Dell plant in Limerick," said EU employment commissioner Vladimir Spidla yesterday.
"Our first priority is to get workers made redundant back into new jobs as quickly as possible. The European globalisation fund can be used for just that purpose and - although we cannot of course guarantee anything at this stage - we would look favourably on any application for assistance made by the Irish authorities."
Under the scheme, governments can make applications for emergency funding to help retrain workers who lose their job due to the negative effects of globalisation. The amount of money that could be made available to the Government is considerable, particularly if job losses at Dell's numerous supply companies are included in the funds application.
Last year, Italy got €35 million in aid from the European globalisation fund to help retrain 6,000 textile workers in Sardinia, Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany.
In December, Spain received €10.4 million to help retrain 1,600 workers made redundant when the American multinational Delphi decided to close a factory in Cadiz.
Dell has announced 1,900 job losses in Limerick, but a further 1,500 jobs at its supply companies are also at risk. Business leaders in Limerick have warned the knock-on effects could claim up to 7,000 jobs in other industries.
The European globalisation fund was established two years ago with a mission to help member states retrain workers who lose their jobs when companies relocate outside the EU or when major structural changes occur in world trade patterns.
The money can only be paid directly to member states and not to the companies.
Under the scheme, Governments must provide 50 per cent co-financing to help fund measures such as job-search assistance, training, occupation guidance, entrepreneurship promotion and providing funding to help people become self-employed.
The existing eligibility rules for the scheme are quite strict, particularly since Dell is relocating the jobs in Limerick to another EU state, Poland. This means the Government must prove that there has been a major structural change in world trade patterns within the computer industry. EU sources predict this should be possible in the case of Dell.
The commission has also recently proposed loosening the eligibility criteria to allow EU states to apply for funds in cases where companies close down or relocate due to the current economic downturn. The council of Ministers will consider this proposal next week.