EC 'Willing' To Set Up Gallaher's Job Loss Fund

The European Commission is "ready and willing" to help set up a fund to assist those workers who will lose their jobs when Ballymena cigarette firm Gallaher's closes, according to deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

It was announced on Tuesday that about 900 jobs could be lost as the company closes its County Antrim factory over the next two years.

Mr McGuinness said he would be seeking a meeting with the European Commission to examine how a successful application could be made to the Globalisation fund in relation to the job losses.

It follows correspondence between Mr McGuinness's Sinn Féin colleague and MEP Martina Anderson and the head of the Commission Office for Northern Ireland Collette Fitzgerald, who has said that the Commission are "ready and willing" to process an application.

Speaking today Mr McGuinness said: "This follows on the back of a successful application by Austria only last year after JTI pulled out of that particular country which resulted in €6m being delivered for the reskilling and retraining of those who lost their jobs.

"I will be in Brussels next week and will seeking a meeting with the Commission and the Director General for Employment who is responsible for processing an application to the Globalisation Fund in order to attempt to expedite this work.

"It is my understanding that this is a fund that must be applied for by Westminster and that Europe will provide 60% of any package with Westminster supplying the other 40%.

"Given the sheer scale of the job losses there is an onus on the British government to respond positively to supporting the JTI employees in whatever way they can."

(IT/CD)