Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am encouraged by the Minister's reply. Ten years ago there was no Lisheen site adjacent to Thurles and no bioeconomy centre there. The biorefinery has got serious funding and has got the largest ever grant from the EU. That biorefinery will start on the site next year with a capacity to deal with 50,000 tonnes of lactose whey. Tipperary County Council is very enthusiastic about the potential of the Lisheen site and what it can do. Sustainable food production will be the byword of the 21st century. Given the research going on into the Lisheen site and the fact it is a bioeconomy centre, I have no doubt the usage will be there.

I ask the Minister that the feasibility study on the potential of the Lisheen site and the gas connection, which the county council has asked for, be undertaken. We reckon the cost of the study would be €90,000. I ask him to arrange this feasibility study. I am confident in the extreme that he will recognise the significant potential of this site and the Thurles area. Glanbia has bought into this biorefinery. The location is at the heart of the agrifood industry, with Arrabawn, Dairygold, Tipperary Co-op and even Lakelands in the vicinity, as well as numerous meat factories. The waste coming from those can be used in the bioeconomy to produce valuable commodities that can be traded commercially.

4 o’clock

The potential of Lisheen is immense, and because Thurles is adjacent there could be a twin project to connect it too. This could be a template for rural Ireland and rural development. The Minister could give us the money to do the feasibility study. We can prove that the usage will be there and the connection will ensure that this bioeconomy site thrives in the future.

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