Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Bannon for sharing his time. Senator Feighan also tabled a motion in the last few days on which he agreed to share time with me.

I sympathise with the 350 workers in Rooskey, County Roscommon who have lost their jobs. The cannery remains but we do not know for how long as canneries require raw material to stay in business. The Hanley family was in operation for the last century and left a great legacy. The workers have provided great products and a tremendous service to the people. As a former Minister with responsibility for trade, I worked in Japan selling Irish pork from the company which was ahead of its time and whose products were held in high regard.

The Glanbia building burned down and the insurance company should insist that the building is restored. The money cannot and should not be moved to Edenderry or Roscrea to build up the plants there. I was a Deputy when the UMP factory in Ballaghadereen was destroyed. Both I and the Minister, Deputy Joe Walsh, ensured that Avonmore bought it over and rebuilt it in Ballaghadereen. At the time I said that the Government would not be responsible for its closure but would be responsible and involved in the reopening of the plant.

Glanbia should not receive any grant support if it does not rebuild the plant. It is needed in Rooskey for the suppliers in Monaghan, Cavan and the north west who have been loyal to this company over the years. This is a serious situation. There is a public meeting next Wednesday night, which I intend to attend. I publicly appeal to Glanbia plc to reconsider the situation, re-build the factory in Rooskey and provide the jobs that are so badly needed in the BMW region. Roscommon has not received its fair share of jobs in the past number of years. The IDA has let us down in that regard. I appeal to the Government not to support Glanbia's proposal to develop Edenderry and Roscrea.