Mr. Tom Donnellan:

I will try to be brief. Newbridge is our headquarters and remains so. People in Newbridge are saying, "Newbridge or nowhere." We are staying there. Kildare, including Newbridge, has been very good to us and very supportive of us.

The Deputy is more than familiar with the Drehid site. It is an old site we would like to develop and upgrade. We would like to spend a bit of money on it because we are not going out of business. We are reinventing ourselves and diversifying, and we are building for the future. Clearly, we see Newbridge as the place we will be based in this regard. That is critical. Some of the management and administration jobs there will be affected. As the package will be voluntary, we will try to manage the operation in a fair and just way. We will give people lots of time and work with them. Our desire is to make the process as smooth as possible.

We have been very open and transparent with the people in Kilberry. As we go through change management, our approach is to be open and transparent. We find that works best rather than coming with surprises. Our approach is to tell people what is going on. We have been upfront with Kilberry on what is going on with the customers and the peat-free agenda, especially in horticulture. We have confirmed to the staff that, for the 2019 season, customers have confirmed they will place the orders. There is a big question as to whether the large UK customers will go peat-free in 2020. As a result of the fact that we manufacture the product in Kilberry, we are trying to convince the customers not to go peat-free. We are having that discussion. We are being very upfront with the Kilberry teams on that. As soon as we have any information either way, we will be first down there. We are also examining whether there are other opportunities in the area. It is a green waste facility and has a licence. If the UK customers say they are going peat-free, there will be a significant impact on Kilberry but there is no question that we want to pull out of there or anything of that nature. I reassure the Deputy on that.

The Deputy and others made an important point regarding links with Departments. We are open to all the support, ideas and help we can get. We are not looking inwards but outwards. We are going through a significant transformation, which presents many challenges. We are working with some Departments. We know them well and are getting doors opened where we need them opened. We welcome any offers from everybody on the committee in the context of opening further doors. We are working with Enterprise Ireland, which is really helping us. We are working with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, we are working with the Department of Education and Skills on the European funds and we are working with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. We must broaden our reach in terms of who we work with. Given the number of areas we are getting into, whether energy, tourism or funding, we have to work the network. I would not say we have got it sorted out but we are getting at it. We have got a concrete plan as to how to do it.

The final question was on Drehid, which is a very well-managed, successful landfill site. We have significantly reduced the amount of tonnage there. We see a future for the site. Planning permission has been sought for an extension. This is currently going through the process. We are carrying out some environmental impact studies. Subject to the extension of planning permission, we will be continuing in the area for the foreseeable future.