John Ellis (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing Deputy Finneran and I to raise the matter of the proposed closure by Glanbia of its canning facility at Rooskey, County Roscommon. The House will be aware that the Rooskey plant was destroyed by fire some years ago and the only part of the premises that avoided the fire was the cannery which continued to operate until the recent proposal by Glanbia to close it.

This is a completely retrograde step in view of the fact that this facility had an offer for a management buy-out some six months ago but which has been rejected by the board of Glanbia. This management buy-out would have managed to save the jobs of the 85 people who are employed there.

I ask the Minister of State to ask Glanbia to reconsider the position with regard to the proposed closure and to re-examine the possibility of the management buy-out. I hope that in doing so Glanbia would realise that it has now benefited to the tune of €30 million as a result of the insurance claim it received in respect of the fire at the plant. This money has not been invested in the Rooskey community or in the community served by the plant prior to the fire. There is an onus on Glanbia to ensure that it considers the management buy-out and reconsider it or else decide to ask Enterprise Ireland to take over the business and see what can be done to market the site and allow the jobs in Rooskey to be retained.

Michael Finneran (Longford-Roscommon, Fianna Fail)
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I join with my colleague, Deputy Ellis, in raising this matter on the Adjournment.

I refer to the loss of the remaining 85 jobs and the disgraceful treatment handed down to the village of Rooskey and its people by the Glanbia company which has already pocketed some €30 million of an insurance claim following a fire in the factory in 2002, with the loss of more than 400 jobs. The ultimate insult is the refusal of a management buy-out which would have protected the remaining 85 jobs.

This is a disgrace and a severe blow to the area, to the people of Roscommon and south Leitrim. I am outraged that the management of the canning facility at Rooskey and the Glanbia company have decided to close the facility in the new year, despite a recent attempt at a buy-out which has the support of a Dutch family company and which would have provided an outlet for the products in Europe. A buy-out was lined up and support was established for the facility. I do not understand how they could do this to the people of Roscommon and Leitrim considering the job losses they have already experienced at the facility.

I call on the Government to put pressure on Glanbia to reopen the discussions between the buy-out company and Glanbia. I ask that all the State agencies become involved to ensure that this facility which is the last canning facility in the country, is maintained. If they are not prepared to entertain this on their own site, I ask that they stay in business or allow the business to continue until the middle of 2007 so that the county manager of County Roscommon, with the State agencies, can provide an alternative site to save these jobs and perhaps provide increased jobs in that area. Canning is not an industry that we will ever see in Ireland again if this facility in Rooskey is closed down. Glanbia owes more to the people of County Roscommon and County Leitrim than it is currently providing. The Government should put strong pressure on the company. My colleague and I are speaking here on behalf of the people of the area. We are expressing the widely held view in that area that this company has walked away and pocketed a significant sum of money without giving any positive response to the local people. It has a chance to do so now and my colleague and I are calling for that to be done.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising these matters.

While responsibility for the food sector rests with the Minister for Agriculture and Food, I was very disappointed to hear about the situation at the company in question. I am very conscious of the effects that the job losses will have on the workers concerned and their families, as well as on the local community in the surrounding area. This is very disturbing news for the workers employed in this meat canning plant who now face losing their jobs. I wish to assure all those concerned that the State agencies under the remit of my Department will provide every support they can. The priority will be to secure alternative employment for those involved at the earliest opportunity. The role of FÁS, the industrial training agency, will be of particular importance in providing support and assistance to the workers facing redundancy.

The Glanbia plant in Rooskey, County Roscommon, was established in 1972 when a canning plant was set up alongside a pork slaughtering plant. As a result of a fire at the plant in May 2002, the boning and slaughtering activities were terminated. Consistent with the sectoral strategy for pork at that time, Glanbia rationalised its slaughtering operations and consolidated that activity into two sites, Roscrea and Edenderry. This consolidation of facilities was driven by a need to achieve international competitiveness in the pork sector where over 50% of the output of the pork division of Glanbia is exported.

The cannery operation survived on the Rooskey site and employed 85 people. While exports to third countries were a big part of the business in the early 1990s, the current business is involved primarily in exporting to the UK as well as supplying the domestic market. Products include a range of canned products such as hams, corned beef, pies and ready-made meals.

The performance of this business declined in 2005, when a long-standing contract to supply canned pork products was lost. This resulted in the loss of 1,500 tonnes of sales volume per week, forcing the company to put most of the work force on a three-day week. The overall canned meat market is in decline as a result of changing consumer preferences and a greater emphasis on fresh and chilled products. In recognising the declining market segment for canned meat products, Enterprise Ireland has been working with Glanbia Rooskey to stimulate new product development to replace products in decline. Over the past two years, a significant amount of effort was put in to replace that business and Enterprise Ireland, under its research and development grant aid scheme supported a number of potential new product development projects. Regrettably, there was no positive outcome from these initiatives.

This year, Glanbia undertook a strategic review of its activities at the Rooskey plant. During the review process, an approach was made by two of the existing management team who were interested in purchasing the business. While Enterprise Ireland held discussions with the potential new owners and actively encouraged Glanbia to do business if possible, I am informed that the interested parties were unable to develop a viable business plan that could show any growth opportunities for the cannery market. As a result, Glanbia was not prepared to proceed with the management buy-out. Enterprise Ireland understands that Glanbia feels that it has exhausted all possibilities regarding a management buy-out and, as a result, it announced the closure of the Rooskey plant on 14 November 2006, with the loss of 85 jobs.

There are currently ten IDA Ireland-supported companies in County Roscommon employing approximately 900 people. Enterprise Ireland has 78 client companies in the county, employing approximately 1,950 people. Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the Land Registry part of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform will be relocating to Roscommon. This will see 230 jobs moving to the town.

The most recent live register figures for County Roscommon show a figure of 1,224 for October 2006, down from 1,264 in the previous month. The industrial development agencies will be making every effort to secure new investment and job opportunities in Roscommon. There are already a number of important groups and committees working to develop the business infrastructure in County Roscommon. These include the board and economic group of Roscommon County Development Board and the board and evaluation committee of Roscommon County Enterprise Board. The efforts of the development agencies, together with local interests, will be very important in the future and I am confident they will continue to bring sustainable employment to the area. I will take account of the points raised by Deputies Ellis and Finneran and will raise them with the Minister, Deputy Martin.