Bishop William Lee, (RC) Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, has spoken of his deep sadness at the loss of 575 jobs at the call centre TalkTalk in Waterford city and has called for prayers throughout the diocese.
“This is a severe blow to the employees in Waterford, their families and will have a devastating impact on the regional economy of the southeast. This shocking announcement not only directly affects TalkTalk workers but, in addition, it jeopardises local ancillary jobs which have been created since the company opened and which rely for survival on the pay-spend of the workers,” said Bishop Lee in a statement.
He asked for special prayers to be said at Masses throughout the diocese of Waterford and Lismore for the intentions of the employees and their families.
“I am calling on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton TD, and relevant State agencies, especially the Industrial Development Authority, to support Waterford in terms of sustaining employment opportunities for this skilled workforce in the city and surrounding areas,” he concluded.
The TalkTalk business is at the heart of St Paul’s parish, Lisduggan, according to parish priest Fr Pat Fitzgerald, who said he was shocked and saddened by the news of so many job losses.
“It has cast a pall over the place - the shock at having so many jobs go so suddenly,” he told ciNews.
He expects that the impact of the job losses on parishioners and the wider community will begin to emerge at Sunday masses and in the days and weeks ahead when the people will need real support.
“It is obviously going to have repercussions for quite a while - it is like a bomb blast,” he said.
Fr Fitzgerald and the parish has had previous experience of job losses as St Paul’s was also close to Waterford Crystal, which closed in early 2009 with the loss of more than 500 jobs, and when some staff staged a sit-in to try to save their jobs.
“That was very devastating because our community here was based on that industry. It is still hard to look at the place and see it so derelict. But then there are families here who say they owe so much to the place that they had their livelihood, their homes, and their children’s education they see the positive side of it that so much was gained from it while it was there,” he told ciNews .
He recalls celebrating Mass there in the latter days of the sit-in.
“It was like a wake for a factory, at the request of the workers, it was very moving, something I will never forget,” he said.
Waterford Crystal has since been reborn as a small craft enterprise employing just over 100 staff compared to the more than 600 previously employed but at least the name remains in Waterford city.