A €7.4m retraining fund has been handed out by the EU in the hopes of helping the 850 former SR Technics workers made redundant early last year when the firm closed down its Dublin Airport operation.
The money will help the most disadvantaged of those made redundant and is aimed at getting them back to employment, re-educated or into third-level education.
A total estimated value of the fund is around €11.5m and the Government is expected to contribute €4.1m towards this.
The assistance to the former SR Technics workers comes with conditions, however, and it must be utilised for further education, training and job placements or as start-up capital for aspiring entrepreneurs, while the amount must be spent within two years of the original application.
Source of funding
Funding will come from the European Globalisation Fund (EFG), which exists to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of changing global trade patterns so that they can regain employment as quickly as possible. A maximum amount of €500m per year is available to the EGF in order to finance such interventions.
The total estimated cost of the package is almost €11.5m, of which the EU has been asked to provide EGF assistance of €7.4m.
