Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask Mr. Horgan to talk through the annual planning vis-à-visthe longer-term planning for the merged companies. I understand that if the weather is bad it can impact peat production. I also understand that if the weather is good, demand for the product decreases. There are other opportunities. Mr. Horgan talked about unregulated fuel imports from Northern Ireland, which seems to imply there is something wrong with this. What is meant by unregulated fuel imports and what is the impact on Bord na Móna? Is there an opportunity for Bord na Móna to export?I understand the issue of carbon tax. Mr. Horgan said Bord na Móna pays 50% of the carbon tax levy on 30% of the market. That is a startling figure. What is the basis for that figure, and has it been discussed with anybody? If I had a business and was paying 50% of a levy when I thought I should be paying 30% I would be asking hard questions. I am not sure I get the point about private fuels. People are entitled to private fuel; they always have been and always will be.

Mr. Horgan mentioned that a capital work plan had been introduced. He stated that this amount had been increased from €1.4 million to €1.8 million in the briquette factories alone. What is the purpose of the investment plan? Is it to develop new lines? Is it to produce more? Is it to do more with less human input? What problem is being resolved or what opportunity is being grasped with the increase in capital investment in the briquette factories?

The final issue is one I have been asked to raise at this forum. I understand that pensioners in the company have recently been informed that there is a shortage in the pension fund and that a levy will be placed on them.

Can Mr. Horgan tell us about the state of health of the pension fund? How much is going to be levied from the pensioners? One pensioner to whom I was speaking before the meeting said there appeared to be a lot of management consultants around the place. What are they doing and how much are they being paid? If the management consultants were not being paid so much the burden of the levy would not have to be placed on the shoulders of the pensioners. The same pensioner told me that morale was quite low among workers and pensioners in Bord na Móna and that it is actually disimproving. I understand the stresses of industrial relations. When things are going flyingly well people tend to be happy, while they are unhappy when things are tight. There used to be a very good process for liaison between management and staff and between management and pensioners, and the welfare of workers and pensioners was always taken into account, but this seems to have dropped off the agenda of the company now.