John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I am glad Senator Mansergh is aware of that. Long ago, there was an established tradition of coal mining in north Kilkenny and the greater Castlecomer area in particular. However, the mines in that district became redundant in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result there is no longer a coal mining industry in the Castlecomer area. The population in that corner of north Kilkenny is quite large. I was recently told by the local council that it is the most densely populated rural part of Ireland. It has unique settlement patterns and is a unique community primarily made up of working class Church of Ireland people who came to the area when the mines were operational. That is unique when one looks at it in the context of a 26 county Ireland. Such communities are not found in many areas.

We were informed before Christmas that Comerama, a factory set up in the area when the mines closed, was to close. The loss of that factory in an area which traditionally has a higher level of unemployment than the rest of Kilkenny, and considerably higher than the national average, was particularly hard. Following that announcement, I attended a meeting in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Deputy Aylward – a Member of the Dáil representing Carlow-Kilkenny – Deputies John McGuinness, Phil Hogan and Seamus Pattison, Senator Fergal Browne, two local councillors, representatives of the workers of Comerama and officials from that Department.