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

I acknowledge the Ceann Comhairle's choice of this topic and I thank the Minister for coming in personally to deal with this very serious issue, which has a potentially disastrous outcome for the people of mid- and north Tipperary. I am not going to go back over many things that have been said, but perhaps I could ask the Minister a few questions on the 80 jobs that are being approved in Clonmel and the €10 million investment, which is welcome. Will the workers in Borrisoleigh who are losing their jobs have priority for those jobs?

Could the Minister outline to the House and the general public the extent to which efforts were made by the Minister and his Department to dissuade C&C from closing its plant in Borrisoleigh? What carrots were given that might have kept that plant open, which seems to the general public to be very economical and which has provided magnificent employment for more than 200 people down through the years? What is going to happen to the plant now? Is any effort being made to find a new owner and will the company make available the plant and the machinery so that it is possible for an alternative owner to come in?

The extent to which redundancy, compensation and retraining will be given to the workforce in Borrisoleigh is critical. We ask that this be maximised. What efforts are the Government and State bodies making to bring new industry into mid- and north Tipperary? I caution that C&C still exists in the county. It is fragile. We want it to prosper in the county and to continue giving employment. We have to be very careful with the language we use regarding the company. Threatening them is of no help.

See this speech in context