Mr. Michael Curran:

I thank the Deputy. We have been engaging with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this over the past number of months. There have been many letters and meetings to and fro, but a good deal more needs to be done. We are not satisfied with much of the correspondence which has been received. The Deputy asked about jobs. We have 13 jobs in this sector, but in the sector in total, you are probably talking about between 30 and 40 jobs. However, it is not just the few jobs involved in the sector directly, but it is the jobs in the spin-off industries, such as food suppliers. What will they do with the remains of the food that we do not collect? What will be the story there? We are dealing with close to 70 or 80 food suppliers throughout the island of Ireland. In my particular region, we are probably dealing with 25 food suppliers.

We do business with 250 companies on the island of Ireland, from buying the nuts and bolts to other identities we deal with. There is a lot involved in this. People do not realise the networking that we do. It is a huge operation. We have been here for 61 years and it has been built up into a huge industry. Many people are depending on this.

Speaking for myself, a group of 70 farmers receive fertiliser from us. That will be a big issue for them when we close. It will be an extra expense on them given the way times are going.