Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I am most disappointed with the response of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, to the motion. Everything that is in her script I have already read, either in the local or the daily papers and certainly in the Irish Farmers' Journal. She refused to answer the pressing questions as to whether she knew about or had discussions about the closure or was given reasons for it. Those are pressing issues which the growers and the workers at the Carlow sugar factory want addressed. We have not been told the answers yet this evening.

I wish to address some of the matters raised by Senator Callanan and other speakers who argued that it was time to face the challenge. The farming sector is a section of the community that has faced continuous challenges, especially in the past five or six years. It has never been afraid to face challenges or take on fresh ideas and adapt to new situations. Senator Ryan's point that farmers have their eyes shut and are continuously in the dark, refusing to accept transition, is appalling. I look forward to the farming community dealing with that point. Farmers will not take long to open the Senator's eyes when they hear about that comment.

Senator Mansergh spoke about Thurles but only told part of the story. When the former Deputy, Michael O'Kennedy, was canvassing prior to a general election, he gave a commitment to save the factory. Having been elected, he was made Minister for Agriculture but failed to appoint the working director from the area. Instead he put in someone from Belfast or some place where no one knew anything about the farming industry. On one vote, the sugar factory was closed. Had that not happened, I am sure it would still be here today. Senator Mansergh stated he was sure that there would be a generous redundancy for the families. That is a poor consolation to the workers. The same was said in Roscrea when Antigen Ireland closed down, yet three years later the workers in that factory have not received their full rights. Shame on Senator Mansergh for suggesting such a thing.