Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have this opportunity to speak on this matter and I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting it. As Deputy Lowry said, it is a hugely important issue in the locality. When it is combined with the effect of the closure of the Lisheen Mine with a possible loss of jobs for 400 people, we are talking about 500 people in the area losing their jobs. It is a huge blow to the area. I call on the Minister of State present along with his colleagues, the Minister with responsibility for energy and the Minister with responsibility for employment to take a hands-on approach to this matter and to speak directly to the company, which is heavily subsidised with taxpayers' money and also by the ESB, to ensure the future of the briquette factory in Littleton.

We have been told that part of the reason for this decision is due to the stockpile of briquettes that are in the country. Even though this is not directly in the Minister of State's remit, he has responsibility for European affairs and the carbon tax is an issue in that context. We are being flooded with coal imported from the North which is not subject to carbon tax. It is estimated that the carbon tax has added 50 cent to a bale of briquettes. In this context, we are talking about fair trade and equal opportunity for all. I ask the Minister of State to take up this issue to ensure that people in rural Ireland are not being penalised.

The briquette factory in Croghan, near Edenderry, closed in the 1990s. We were then left with two factories. We wish to safeguard these, particularly the factory in Littleton, which is creating meaningful employment in the area. We want to ensure its viability into the future.

What action is the Minister of State and the Government going to take to preserve the jobs in the briquette factory in Littleton, County Tipperary? Are they going to have a meaningful hands-on working relationship with Bord na Móna whereby they will call in the management and ask it about the way it is treating the workers who have given genuine service for many years? The workers were told there was no employment for them for approximately four to five months in the height of summer. They were told they would be deployed to other maintenance jobs or to upgrading the factory but either way, everybody who is in employment in Littleton will be affected by this. I call on the Minister of State to press the Government takes adequate action to ensure the immediate viability of these jobs and the security, safety and guarantee of those jobs into the future.

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