Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I find it incredible that a Minister of State at the Department of Health who is from inner city Dublin, although, in fairness, originally from Galway, as I found to my cost in a recent national league final, is dealing with this question.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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He is multi-talented.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Surely one of the Ministers was available from the appropriate Department. I ask for the indulgence and support of the Government for the workers in the Littleton Bord na Móna factory.

A political charge was made against me on the floor of the House today by the leader of Fianna Fáil which was, frankly, childish. I know that he wants to run away from discussing the Garda Commissioner, but his remarks were childish. He was aided by his deputy leader, my colleague, Deputy Jackie Cahill. If he wants to take the stabilisers off the Deputy and let him come out and play, he should do so because it was one of the most childish things I had seen in my time in politics.

We met the workers in Littleton. Until today, the five Deputies involved were playing a very good game and trying to ensure we achieved the best outcome for the workers. We had worked together and met the Minister. I have spoken to the CEO of Bord na Móna. We have tried to work out the best way forward for the workers who have seen significant restructuring in the past few years which has affected 122 people, between full-time and part-time workers.

When we met the Minister last Friday week, it was quite an emotional meeting because some of the workers' grandparents had worked in the factory which goes back generations and it is not just about the work. It is also about minding the bog and ensuring production levels are maintained. It is a way of life. The decision of Bord na Móna, with which we disagree, has been made and e have been told it will not be changed under any circumstances. However, we need to fight to try to get the best deal for the workers.

There are four issues, the first of which is the peat which remains, how it can be used and whether there is capacity for it to be used for export purposes, in particular, in order to maintain and, it is to be hoped, generate some employment into the future. It is a distinct possibility with markets looking for peat.

Second and most important, we need to secure an extension of the closure date. April 2018 is far too soon. We need at least two more seasons in order to ensure the peat can be used and the workers will have a fair length of time to plan their exit and futures. We also believe there is a demand for their produce. There is a dividend payment of €10 million a year from Bord na Móna. Surely it could be used to facilitate the extension of time required for the workers.

Third, we need to renegotiate the redundancy package because the one in place is awful. To be frank, if somebody has worked at the plant for 30 or 35 years, he or she is being penalised. The longer someone has worked there, the worse off he or she will be by comparison. Therefore, we need to get a better deal for the workers.

Fourth, we need to have hope for the infrastructure and plant in place. The connection to the grid is nearby and facilities are in place. What incubation or other services could we plan for if we were to secure an extension of the closure date to ensure there will be some employment on the site? I am not referring solely to harvesting and exporting the peat but to other renewable energy sources that could be developed in the area, given the infrastructure in place and scale of the facility.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and supporting the rights of the workers in the Littleton Bord na Móna plant. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, who apologises that he cannot be present to take it.

Bord na Móna is a commercial State company operating in accordance with the Turf Development Acts 1946 to 1998. While operational matters such as this are the responsibility of the board and management team and not matters in which the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment has any direct role or function, the Government is nonetheless conscious of the impact the recent decision has had on the employees of Bord na Móna. It is facing significant business challenges in the context of the deregulation of the electricity market and an increasingly competitive and challenging environment across all of its business areas, not least its fuels business. Its fuels business in general, including the briquette business, has been operating in recent years at a level significantly below existing capacity. The fall in sales is driven by a range of factors, including increased competition, consumer trends, carbon tax, mild weather and low oil prices.

Arising from the reduced demand and in line with the normal process of the ongoing review of each sector at Bord na Móna, the fuels business undertook a comprehensive review of current briquetting operations, with the intention of identifying a solution to sustain the business and jobs in the long term. The review concluded that in order to sustain the business into the future, the Derrinlough factory, employing 61 people, would be the optimum location for future investment to secure the future of the fuels business. The report also concluded that the company's facility at Littleton should continue production for the coming season and should permanently cease production in April 2018. There are 69 permanent employees at this facility.

I understand that, having received the review conclusions, the company has begun a process of engagement with the group of unions and employees. It has confirmed that no redundancies in this area are being contemplated in the current year. While the Minister has no direct role in the matter, he has held a series of meetings with affected stakeholders. He has called for engagement and imagination from all sides - I accept many of the points raised by Deputy Alan Kelly - in order to come up with a range of solutions for the employees. He has urged Bord na Móna to consider all opportunities for redeployment, a phased reduction in employment numbers and any other renewable technology opportunities which may arise in respect of its investments.

As part of Bord na Móna's general strategy to move towards sustainable businesses based on renewable energy sources, pilot trials for the production of a biomass briquette have been conducted. The development of the biomass briquette represents a significant investment by the company which has confirmed its intention to begin large-scale production of the product. This will be a critical step in future-proofing the fuels business as it offers the potential of sustainable and quality regional employment.

In addition, the Minister will bring a memo to the Government to establish a new entity, BioEnergy Ireland, focusing on the development of the biomass sector in Ireland. It will assist farmers in establishing a new source of income and secure existing regional employment levels by transitioning staff away from milling peat to harvesting biomass in a fair way.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his efforts in reading that out. As I said earlier, a political charge was made. In June 2015, the CEO of the company came and spoke very well to the workers. I regret, however, that a senior member of Bord na Móna did not come down to meet the workers to tell them they were losing their jobs. It is unacceptable that a senior representative of the company at board or management level was not there on the day of the closure of an industry which has been in place for multiple generations. When the CEO addressed the workers in June 2015, he outlined a potential investment plan to create projects in the plant. I very much welcomed the proposed heat and power plant, but there were a number of conditions which the CEO outlined to the workers. In the circumstances, the charge which was made this morning was childish. Not only was it childish, but I note that Deputy Micheál Martin is a former history teacher and that he must like engaging in revisionism. I would like him to correct what he said. The heat and power plant did not happen as I found out long after I left Government because management decided against it due to issues around connectivity to the grid, the cost associated with it and the changing commercial situation with the lowering of volumes of briquette production.

I ask the Minister of State to relay a number of things back to the Minister. We need an extension of time. This has been a bolt from the blue for the workers and an extension will give them time to format their lives and plan. We need a plan for the resource and plant that is left in place. The peat that is left there needs to be exported which would save some jobs and create others. As somebody who supports workers, I note finally that the redundancy package is unfair. I do not know how it was negotiated in the first place. The workers with the longest time served will, on average, do worse, which is incredible. I know the Minister will have to talk to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform about that and I ask the Minister of State to ask him to do so.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I would not like to get into a scrap between Deputies Alan Kelly and Micheál Martin, so I will stay out of that aspect of the debate. Deputy Kelly is right to come here to defend and fight for the rights of workers. That is the duty of all of us. The issues he raises are very important. He referred, for example, to the remaining plant there and the capacity for export. There is an issue I will bring back to the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten. There is also the whole issue of the extension of the closing date and demand for the produce internationally, including in European countries. I do not know what can be done about the €10 million dividend, but these are issues at which we must all look. We all have a duty to try to ensure that people are employed. A very important issue and one which I would find unacceptable would be any injustice in the redundancy package. Deputy Kelly said people with 35 years service were not getting justice and that is something I will also bring back to the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten.