Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue of paramount importance to the 80 permanent staff at the Bord na Móna briquette plant at Littleton and the bog production area at Templetuohy. Littleton is located in the heart of County Tipperary and has always been closely associated with Bord na Móna and the briquette factory. The factory has been part of the community since it opened in 1981 and has proved to be the lifeblood of the local rural economy, providing quality employment and invaluable community support and delivering a degree of job security in an area that is otherwise devoid of industry.

Sadly, after 35 years of providing a steady income for countless families, staff were informed last week that Littleton's production facility is to close from 29 April until the middle of August, with a roster providing for a skeleton staff over a 14-week period. This means workers will face a minimum of eight weeks being laid off. Moreover, staff have been informed that two-day working weeks may be enforced. They were told these measures are being undertaken as a cost-saving exercise. These savage cuts to pay and conditions will have a devastating impact on the income of permanent staff and consign them to financial hardship.

There are no conceivable grounds for such drastic action by Bord na Móna. The company is profitable, making a profit of €50 million on its peat-production activity last year and an anticipated profit of €40 million in 2015. The Littleton plant itself is also doing well, with an estimated profit last year of approximately €3 million. We have a situation where a profitable company is treating its workforce in a despicable way and transferring some of the costs of its employment obligations onto the Exchequer through the Department of Social Protection.

I commend the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, on his recent announcement, to much fanfare, of a Government rural investment initiative to maximise employment and revitalise local economies. However, in the context of what is happening at Bord na Móna in Littleton, the Minister's statements in this regard are ridiculous, meaningless and hollow.

If the Government is serious about supporting rural industry, it must move immediately to assist Bord na Móna to protect its employees by addressing, first, the issue of carbon tax and, second, the ESB's public service obligation on financial subsidies.

I ask the Government to tell Bord na Móna management that its slash and burn approach will lead to human carnage and actions that are unacceptable. The Government must insist that Bord na Móna changes direction and involves itself in meaningful negotiations with the group of unions to find a different approach and reach agreement on contentious issues.

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