Come clean on delays in EU funding for SRT workers, Childers tells government

Posted by Bronwen Maher on March 24, 2010 at 08:47 PM

Nessa Childers MEP has told the European Parliament that a “dysfunctional, tired and out-of-step government” is delaying the processing of awarding EU payments to over 1,000 redundant SR Technics workers.

Accusing the government and the outgoing Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan of gross inaction, the Leinster MEP said: “I can confirm that as of today, the Commission has still to receive the outstanding paperwork required for the EU to make a final decision on payments under the European Globalisation Fund which will help secure the collective futures of the 1,100 workers who have lost their jobs at Dublin Airport.

“We all know that the Irish State’s coffers are bare. A cynic could be forgiven for thinking that the government’s inaction may have to do with the difficulty it will have in coming up with the 35% required to fulfill its end of the bargain in terms of the EGF payments, given the parlous state of the economy.

“Could it be the case that the government is living in fear of the European Commission writing a cheque to SRT workers that the Department may be incapable of cashing? Might it be that the Department of Enterprise is afraid to put its bank card into the EGF hole-in-the-wall, in case it’s faced with the dreaded ‘insufficient funds’ message?

“One could be forgiven for speculating that there is more to putting this application form together than meets the eye, given the inexcusable delays involved in helping the SRT workers, some of whom have already lost out on college courses as a result of government inaction.

“In order to deal with this growing speculation, the government should come clean and explain why there has been such a delay in submitting the EGF paperwork to Brussels. The SRT workers deserve nothing less.”

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