Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Wilson and others regarding councillors' terms and conditions. I get no pleasure from saying that the Government's treatment of hardworking local authority members throughout the country has been degrading and insulting and needs to be tackled once and for all. That is the least they deserve.

I wish to propose an amendment to today's Order of Business such that the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys, would come to the House to discuss the 31 proposed job losses at Kerry Foods in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. With any news of job losses, our first thought is of those affected and their families, all of whom have mortgages and financial obligations to sustain. The company management indicated that the potential job losses are due to Brexit and the resultant weakness of sterling. The loss of 31 jobs would be a huge blow to a town such as Carrickmacross, as all Senators will appreciate. It is even more worrying that the potential losses are in the food sector, which is vitally important to a county such as Monaghan because so many jobs in sectors such as mushrooms, poultry and general agriculture are dependent on it.

This should not be happening under the nose of the Government. We have been calling for job creation in counties such as Monaghan but those calls have fallen on deaf ears. The Government has not been listening. Recent figures from IDA Ireland indicate that it only conducted one site visit in County Monaghan last year, while there were two in County Cavan. Job creation is not happening in Monaghan. The even more important issue of job retention does not seem to be key either.It is important that the Minister would come into the House and outline the current situation in respect of Kerry Foods, the future of that plant and its 600 plus jobs in a town like Carrickmacross, and what the Government is doing to Brexit proof counties like Monaghan that are so dependent on the agricultural sector and food production.