Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for being here and for his time. I wish to raise an incredibly important issue for my constituents in the area of Kildare, in Kilberry and Athy. It concerns the Bord na Móna plant. Since 1933, when the idea of harvesting peat and turf came into being, and from 1946 when Bord na Móna started, Bord na Móna has historically been the sole main employer on very large tracts of land particularly around the midland counties and most particularly in my county of Kildare. It has provided a vital economic lifeline in Athy and indeed in Ballydermot, Timahoe and other areas.

My particular question concerns Kilberry, which started production in 1947, the year after Bord na Móna was established and which has provided a vibrant industry and presence in the area. At this time there are 53 full-time and six seasonal employees in the plant. Bord na Móna decided to purchase a horticultural peat plant called White Moss in the north of England which was signed off over Christmas. This poses a significant threat to the future of the Kilberry plant. It is hugely important that we protect our indigenous industries, especially in regions where employment levels are already low. There would be a huge impact on employment in the Kilberry-Athy area if anything was to happen. The workers themselves have received no pay rise since 2008 and were due to get a 6% raise. There is no sign of that. This is a very worrying time for the employees. The prospect of future rationalisation or indeed any type of consolidation has struck fear in the hearts and minds of the employees and their families. Bord na Móna is a semi-State organisation. The Government has a responsibility to oversee the policies of Bord na Móna and how they impact on employment. There has been no investment in Kilberry over the last long number of years. I put it to the Minister that the loss of any jobs in south Kildare, where employment is already a huge issue, would have a severe impact on the area. I would like an assurance from the Minister about the future of the plant in Kilberry and an assurance that no jobs will be lost. I would also like to ask about any conversations that occurred relating to the acquisition of this plant in England and the possibility of it having a negative impact on Kilberry or any other such plants, because surely in light of everything that is happening, including Brexit, we have a duty to preserve the jobs we have and not be buying plants elsewhere and providing employment in other countries which quite soon will not even be members of the EU.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this specific issue, which is important and which was raised privately with me as well.

Bord na Móna is facing significant business challenges in the context of the deregulation of the electricity market and increasingly competitive and challenging environments across all its business areas, not least in its horticulture business. The framework for addressing the challenges facing Bord na Móna is its most recent five year corporate plan and the company's wider sustainability plan to move away from peat production for energy use. It should be noted that the company intends to cease the harvesting of energy peat by 2030. The harvesting of peat for horticultural purposes is expected to continue after that point.

In order to secure the most important market for its horticultural product range, Bord na Móna recently acquired White Moss Horticulture Limited, based in Kirkby, near Liverpool. The integration of White Moss into the horticultural division of Bord na Móna has implications for both Bord na Móna at Kilberry, County Kildare, and the Cúil na Móna plant in County Laois. The rationale for this particular acquisition is to secure the UK export market, which accounts for the majority of the company's horticultural sales. This in turn is intended to support the long term sustainability of Irish jobs in the horticultural and feedstock divisions of Bord na Móna. Additionally, the acquisition helps to sustain the horticulture business into the future by delivering security of non-peat feedstock supply - green waste - which is unavailable in sufficient quantities and geographic concentration in Ireland, and also a competitive supply chain model that drives value in operations and logistics.

This has become increasingly relevant, with constrained currency exchange margins in the immediate aftermath of the British vote to exit the European Union and the possibility of trade tariffs in the longer term.

Regarding the specific matter raised by Deputy O'Loughlin, namely, the future of the plant at Kilberry, while this is a matter of concern to me, I must point out that it is an operational matter for the company and one in which I, as Minister, have no direct role or function. Nonetheless, Bord na Móna has informed me that the majority of jobs based in Kilberry will be secure following the integration of the White Moss acquisition. I consented to the acquisition of White Moss Horticulture limited with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and following thorough analysis by Bord na Móna in the first instance, by NewERA, as the ministerial and commercial and financial advisors and by my own Department officials. My consent to the acquisition was conditional, however, on assurances provided by the management team at Bord na Móna that staff would be fully engaged with during the acquisition and integration process, that, where necessary, redeployments would be pursued and that any potential redundancies would be minimised and would be on a voluntary rather than a compulsory basis as far as possible.

The question that arose was how to maintain the long-term sustainability of the horticulture business and secure as many jobs as possible here in Ireland. It was a very difficult choice. It is not Government policy to invest in operations outside of this country unless there is a clear economic dividend within the State. A lot of thought and consideration went into this proposal by NewERA before it came to me. I discussed and considered it thoroughly before I made any decision on it, with the sole intention being to secure as many jobs as possible in Kilberry and in the horticulture operation as a whole.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that a review is under way, which is very important. I also accept the Minister's bona fides in terms of sustaining Irish jobs. The Minister said that this is a matter of concern for him but it is a matter of huge concern for me in light of his response. He said that this is the responsibility of Bord na Móna but the Government has a responsibility to oversee the policies of Bord na Móna and how they impact on employment.

The Minister gave an assurance that there will be full engagement with the employees, that, where necessary, redeployment will be pursued and that any redundancies will, hopefully, be voluntary. That will not give confidence to any employees who may be listening in now or who may hear of this debate later. Commitments were made previously to invest more money in the plant and to award pay increases. Not alone have the workers not seen any of that, they are now seeing investment going out of the country and into another plant. I ask the Minister to ensure that not one job is lost. I also urge him to go back to Bord na Móna and ask it to look again at Kilberry and to consider the possibility of re-investing in that plant.

I have met members of the workforce who are afraid of their lives to speak out. That is wrong. They would only meet me on condition that those meetings would be confidential and their names would not be used, which I absolutely respect. It is wrong that an environment has been fostered where they are afraid to ask questions of management about the future of the plant and are afraid to have their names mentioned. That is absolutely wrong. On behalf of more than 60 workers, I ask the Minister to go back to Bord na Móna and try to renegotiate with the company.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I thank Deputy O'Louglin for her questions. I want to make it quite clear that I could have kicked this can down the road, not made a decision and told Bord na Móna not to invest in the UK operation. Had I done that, within 12 to 18 months, Deputy O'Loughlin and her colleagues would be asking why I did not take any action to try to save the Kilberry plant and the horticulture operation. I would be criticised for not supporting Bord na Móna when it put a proposal forward that would retain as many Irish jobs as possible. My priority is to retain as many Irish jobs as possible. It is not Government policy to invest in operations outside of this jurisdiction unless there is a clear economic and employment dividend within this State. It is not my job, as Minister, to allow investments like that to take place within the semi-State companies that are under my control. NewERA, on my behalf and that of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, looked thoroughly at this proposal and scrutinised it carefully, as it does with any proposal, particularly where it involves investment outside of this jurisdiction. It found that the best way to retain the maximum number of jobs possible was to take the approach that is being taken by the company.

I am disappointed to hear the Deputy's comment regarding employees being afraid to put legitimate questions forward. That should not be the case and I am quite happy to facilitate a meeting between management at Bord na Móna and the Deputies from the constituency so that the latter can relay the worker's questions to management and get clear answers.

I wish to make one final, important point, which is that we do not have the availability of green waste here. It is a condition now for selling these products in the UK that they must contain a certain percentage of green waste. Part of the problem is that when people are using their brown and green bins, they are contaminating them. A substantial amount of the brown and green bins in this country are being contaminated. That has an impact on employment, not just in the Kilberry operation but in terms of other potential operations across the country.