With an announcement of a restructuring plan at Kostal automotive in Mallow, thought to be imminent, it is imperative that Enterprise and Employment Minister Mary Coughlan intervene with the company to ensure the future viability of the plant.

With an announcement of a restructuring plan at Kostal automotive in Mallow, thought to be imminent, it is imperative that Enterprise and Employment Minister Mary Coughlan intervene with the company to ensure the future viability of the plant.

As an employer of about 400 workers, Kostal is to Mallow what Dell is to Limerick, and no stone should be left unturned in the effort to safeguard those jobs. The situation in Mallow is already extremely serious. Numbers on the live register in the town have virtually doubled in just a year, from 908 in December 2007, to 1794 in December 2008.

It is time that the Tanaiste and Minister of Enterprise Trade and Employment became proactive in identifying issues that the automotive industry faces and in putting together a plan of action that will enable the sector ride out the current storm.

The automotive parts industry is an important employer across the country, but particularly in Munster and is feeling pressure across the board.

Minister Coughlan should get together with industry stakeholders, along with state agencies such as IDA, Enterprise Ireland and FAS, to identify the particular problems that the sector faces, and to come up with a strategy that will provide some form of support to the industry.

She should do this before these problems become a crisis, so that jobs and livelihoods can be safeguarded to the greatest extent possible.