Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I thank sincerely the people of Cork East for the privilege they have afforded me by electing me to the House. I look forward to working for them and on their behalf.

To be blunt, the Minister's reply has been heard many times before. He did not answer the question as I posed it and as it pertained to the Greencore site specifically. Although he met the Taoiseach and others in March 2006, much progress has been made since, in so far as a special local area plan has been adopted for Mallow. I was glad to participate in drawing up the plan, in which we designated 30 acres within the site to be used as a high environmental, quality enterprise and employment zone. The question on everyone's lips in Mallow and north Cork is whether an enterprise will be located on the site. The north Cork and wider east Cork region has been dealt a savage blow in terms of job losses and the people of Mallow have high expectations for the site. The Minister should state whether there is a specific proposal because before the general election a Government backbencher made an announcement to the effect that an American company would make an announcement on job creation. Was the Minister aware of this so-called announcement? If such negotiations took place, did they bear fruit?

See this speech in context