The company that pledged to create 800 jobs in Fermanagh when it took over Liberty Insurance’s contract in July 2015 will be asked to come before Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to explain why no new jobs have materialised.

“Do they want to create these 800 jobs or is it something they have wiped their hands of?” asked Council Chairman Stephen McCann at Tuesday night’s Council meeting.

Last month, the Council wrote to Invest NI, which offered £2.5 million of support towards the Teleperformance project, asking how many jobs had been created and how much money the company has drawn down to date.

READ: 800 new jobs for Enniskillen

In response, a letter from Invest NI states: “You will be aware that around the time of this project Liberty Insurance finalised an agreement with Teleperformance to manage and operate their contact centre in Enniskillen which resulted in the retention of around 200 jobs. This separate project is going particularly well, employment has grown and I understand that the company is pleased with the quality of the workforce in the area.”

The letter does not give detail of draw down, stating: “When an offer is made it is based on the company reaching agreed targets and milestones before any monies are released. Payments are only made when a company demonstrates it has reached these milestones. Employment projects are often over a three-five year period. As jobs are created the company draws down against our offer of support. We monitor company progress closely against our letter of offer both while the project is live, and for a period after. Due to the potential for commercial detriment we do not release progress against job creation while a project is still live.”

The letter concluded: “Teleperformance remains committed to Fermanagh and we continue to work closely with the local management team to help the company deliver its expansion plans.”
Chief Executive of FODC Brendan Hegarty said: “Work to date has been to retain the original 200 jobs at the site.”
SDLP Councillor John Coyle said: “It’s disgusting that nothing has been done since 2015.”

The Sinn Féin Chairman, Stephen McCann said: “I propose that we bring the employer in and put pressure on them.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Barry Doherty believes that “someone was telling porkies” because “there was an election looming.”
The announcement of 800 jobs was made in October 2016 by the then Finance Minister Arlene Foster and then Employment and Learning Minister, Stephen Farry.

Speaking at the time, Mrs. Foster voiced her pride at having “played a part in the journey that has brought Teleperformance to Fermanagh.”
She said: “This new centre will deliver a number of benefits to the local economy, not least the creation of 800 new jobs and the generation of £12 million per annum in salaries.
“The job opportunities created will not only benefit people in Enniskillen but also those in the surrounding areas.”