Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has made a clear commitment to invest more than €10 million in the company and provide additional jobs in a more efficient and higher-utilisation plant.

While the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has a role in examining any merger and acquisition proposal, it is solely to ascertain whether the merger would create excessive concentration in the market. Its role is to examine the share and the impact on competition and whether it would be bad for the marketplace. It has a limited role. It does not work with development plans.

There are valuable assets in Borrisoleigh, and Enterprise Ireland will work with the company to make them available and seek alternative investors, which the company supports. As Deputy Coonan said, we have been putting a very strong emphasis on regional growth. In Tipperary, Eishtec has created additional jobs, Amneal Pharmaceuticals has recently invested through the IDA, and ABP Food Group has invested in Cahir. These three companies have provided more than 600 jobs. Our regional enterprise strategy is designed to strengthen our regions, and I am encouraged by the progress in both the south east and the mid-west, which has shown that we have a strategy that can work.

Deputies have raised concerns about whether this was wrongly motivated. The company's statement showed that utilisation in its manufacturing plants had decreased to 34% and that it had lost significant business.

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