Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic, which is very important in Carlow, Kilkenny and Wicklow. The issue is the appointment by AIB of a receiver to Dan Morrissey Irl. Limited last week. Thankfully, on Friday evening, common sense prevailed and the High Court appointed an interim examiner until this Thursday when, hopefully, the appointment will be confirmed for 100 days.

As has been stated previously, Dan Morrissey Irl. Limited is primarily a Carlow company with operations in Wicklow and other locations. The company was established by Dan Morrissey in the 1930s, although the family's association with the construction materials industry can be traced back many generations. A family-owned and managed business, it is one of the biggest independent suppliers of materials to the Irish construction Industry. Its business includes the supply of quarry products such as ready-mix concrete, concrete blocks, aggregate, tarmacadam and roof tiles. These are sold extensively across the country but especially in Dublin and the south east. The company's vast experience and knowledge and its reputation for quality products has made it one of top suppliers of quarry products in the country. Like most, if not all, construction-related companies, it has come through a very difficult six years since this recession took its toll on the construction industry. However, things are looking up, the future does look brighter and there are signs, however small, of recovery in the construction industry. Dan Morrissey Irl. Limited has €4.5 million worth of confirmed orders on its books. This allied with the quick turnaround telephone orders that come in hourly mean that it could have as much as €8 million worth of work to complete in the coming months.

I am amazed that AIB has moved in at this particular time. It begs the question "why now?" Why did it not do this not last spring when the company's order book was depleted and the going was tough? Why wait until there are positive signs - green shoots as we might call them? Look at the value of confirmed orders, many from local authorities. The company supplies its product to ten local authorities around the country. Regardless of whether it was in the days of the Celtic tiger or these less prosperous times we live in now, the construction industry has boomed in the summer months. Again, I ask why AIB is moving at this stage.

Dan Morrissey Irl. Limited employs 160 direct employees putting €6 million in wages annually into the local economy and an estimated similar indirect amount. It pays €1 million in rates to county councils in Carlow and Wicklow and it spends €250,000 monthly on fuel. It has enough deposits of raw material to meet its current demand for at least another generation, which is significant.

When this news broke last Wednesday evening, I contacted David Duffy, the CEO of AIB. To say the least, his response was disappointing - a standard copy and paste letter. It was the same reply he sent to the Cathaoirleach of Carlow County Council when a special meeting was convened. He said that he had exhausted every possible avenue to ensure a receiver would not be appointed. I understand that trying to ensure that taxpayers get value for money is difficult, but the big question we must ask is why AIB is moving in at this moment in time when the company is in its busiest season. Why did the bank not move last January or February?

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