Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is here to discuss this issue. In recent days, the announcement that the dairy company Corman Miloko, which employed 31 people at its manufacturing plant facility, is to close at the end of June came as devastating news for the families of those impacted, and the town of Carrick-on-Suir and surrounding areas. A statement by the company said the decision was as a result of a reduction in the volume of business contracted at the facility in recent years and follows significant restructuring efforts to enable it to operate in a highly competitive marketplace.

Corman Miloko was the last of the traditional employers in Carrick-on-Suir. It has been there 70 years or more, and it is there longer than I am on this earth. Between it and the tannery in Carrickbeg, they must have had 700 or 800 jobs. Corman Miloko has an excellent workforce. I remember when they worked three shifts around the clock and the company also supported local hauliers and Glanbia tankers with a washing facility. They were a tremendous workforce and it was a good company to work for, let us be fair about it.

I know the Minister of State has been engaging and will engage further with the factory and the company. The town of Carrick-on-Suir is decimated because we do not have jobs. We have the Carrick-on-Suir Development Association, CoSDA, and the many local employers and Councillor Kieran Bourke have done Trojan work to try to keep the town going, but it is becoming a satellite town for other towns as we do not have any industry.

Tá cúpla ceisteanna agam. Has the option been explored for an alternative use for the new manufacturing plant, which is located just off the N24, in order for it to continue to have an important role in the local economy? Will a task force be established to examine the potential for job creation in this area? What efforts is the IDA making to attract foreign companies to set up operations in those areas?

I cannot emphasise enough how good the workforce have been and there have been many families I knew over the years who worked there. I hope they will be engaged in other Glanbia plants or, if not and if they prefer to take redundancy, I hope they will be well looked after because they have earned it and they deserve it. They are a good workforce.

It is a very delicate site. The front wall of the plant is only 5 m or 6 m away from the N24. At the back, just metres away, there is the newly developed Suir Blueway, which is a huge tourist attraction for cyclists, walkers, fishermen and the like. We cannot have this site go in any way into a state of dereliction. I am not giving up the ghost that we will find some other business for it, but we must maintain that site. It is a highly technical site. At one time, there used to be odours but that was all sorted out with a state-of-the-art, high-tech percolation treatment unit. It is a good plant and it is up and running. We have until June and, please God, some other use will be found for it but, if not, the staff must be supported. As I said, with Tipperary County Council and CoSDA, the plant must be put to good use and it cannot be allowed to fall into a state of dereliction.

The tannery is a distant memory in Carrick-on-Suir. Corman Miloko has given long service but this is a sore point with the people of Carrick-on-Suir, south-east Tipperary and east Waterford. We want to make sure this does not go the same road and that we will find an alternative, and keep a willing workforce engaged in productive work.

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