Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, for attending the House to reply to this important Adjournment matter. With the agreement of the House I wish to share time with my constituency colleague, Senator Coonan.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)
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I am pleased to be able to raise this important issue. There is an urgent need to ensure that the result of the Competition Authority's ruling on Premier Foods' recent merger with RHM does not result in job losses in Thurles. I will briefly review the background to this matter. Thurles and other north Tipperary towns have been hit by significant job losses in recent years. Premier Foods is considered to be one of the backbone industries in Thurles. Like Erin Foods, Premier has evolved from the original Irish Sugar Company whose closure some years ago was a major local and national story. Last August, Premier acquired Erin Foods as part of its takeover of Campbells, which itself had acquired Erin Foods in 2002. Therefore, Erin Foods' operation in Thurles forms part a series of branded food products currently being produced in the town.

Last Friday, the Competition Authority ruled on the merger and there was a similar ruling by the authority's British equivalent. The impact of the Competition Authority's ruling is that Premier has been told to dispose of Erin Foods. This is a source of considerable anxiety in Thurles because Erin Foods forms a huge part of the lines being produced in Premier Foods plant there. The situation is best set out in an e-mail from a woman in Thurles — I will not reveal her name as I do not have permission to do so. She settled in Thurles ten years ago when her husband was offered a position with GMX, which is one of the plants that has since closed. They settled very successfully in the town but have watched with disbelief and dismay as industry after industry has closed, with no replacement — all during our supposed boom years.

The woman's e-mail states "last month came great news", when Premier Foods, which last year acquired Erin Foods, announced an increased investment in the plant, particularly in the next two years. There was obviously a positive reaction to this news as it was felt to be a vote of confidence in the operation, and would mean it would move forward. The Competition Authority's ruling last Friday was met with great dismay.

The number of jobs at Premier Foods is approximately 150 to 160, which includes sales staff and so on. There is a concern that these jobs are at risk because of the need to dispose of Erin Foods. Senator Coonan and I, and the Deputies from north Tipperary, had a meeting today with senior management of the company. We voiced our concerns and put it to them that the best possible outcome would be that the entire operation in Thurles would be sold as a going concern, and as a single unit rather than breaking it up into its separate component parts, which we feel would be difficult and dangerous. We do not know if that will happen but Premier Foods is a very successful commercial company which offers much in employment and economic terms to the town of Thurles.

There is great bewilderment that the ruling of the Competition Authority, which seeks to protect the consumer in the overall, could have the impact of undermining and possibly endangering jobs in a town which has already seen considerable job losses and needs jobs like these maintained. The woman who wrote to me, and who has possibly written to others also, beseeches me to at the very least investigate this decision and use the resources available to do everything I can to avoid the loss of yet another 130 jobs. I do not consider the jobs are lost, by any means. I have every confidence that this situation can been resolved. It is a matter of considerable importance. I thank the House and the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise it.

Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, to the House. I thank Senator O'Meara for raising the matter and for allowing me time to speak on it. It is a very important issue for north Tipperary, in particular the town of Thurles and its surrounding area. I appeal to the Minister of State to leave no stone unturned in seeking a resolution to the difficulties in which the company finds itself as a result of the decision made by the Competition Authority. As Senator O'Meara stated, the 150 or 160 workers who are employed directly at the company are our first concern. However, we also have a concern for the greater community of Thurles, where industry has been based on the food industry and has suffered its share as far back as the closure of the sugar factory. Many of those jobs have never been replaced.

To take up where Senator O'Meara finished, from a positive perspective, there is every hope that the factory and the jobs can be saved. The workers at the plant and their unions must be commended on the way they have approached this difficulty and on the decisions they have taken in order to operate better practices. If this factory is compared with a similar factories in Britain or elsewhere, it can be seen there is much room for production there.

With regard to Government intervention, I appeal to the Minister to get involved and to sort out this difficulty. We want the factory retained as a viable unit. It is very important it is not sold off or divested of some of its brands, such as Erin gravy rich, oxtail soup, or a brand which is doing well at present, McDonnells curry sauce. There is huge potential and room for further development at the factory. The public and the workers are concerned, arising from the Competition Authority's decision, that if the factory is sold off and the new company can divest itself of those brands, in a few years we will left with nothing but a ghost factory.

We in the area are positive and believe the factory can be saved. Politicians are working as a unit in this regard. We appeal for help from the Minister of State and the Government, which we have no doubt we will receive. For the greater benefit of the community in Thurles, it is essential this happens.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank my mid-west colleagues, Senators O'Meara and Coonan, for raising this important matter. The Competition Authority on Friday last announced its determination that the proposed acquisition of RHM plc by Premier Foods plc may be put into effect. The Competition Authority is required under the mergers and acquisitions section of the Competition Act 2002 to determine whether the result of the proposed acquisition will substantially lessen competition in the markets for goods and services.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has no role or function in non-media mergers under the Act, nor is the Minister entitled to access any commercially sensitive information on which a decision of the authority is based. It would be inappropriate for the Minister to comment in any manner, shape or form on the authority's determination in this case or any other case. However, since the announcement, Enterprise Ireland has been in contact with the company, which has stated that Premier Foods will dispose of the Erin brand to address the Competition Authority's concerns. It has not, however, made any decision yet about the plant or the jobs therein. It will commence a review and Enterprise Ireland has offered to assist in every way possible. I assure the Senator that the Government, through the agencies, will do everything it possibly can to secure the jobs.

The Government's strategy for Thurles and north Tipperary involves driving the transition to the knowledge economy by winning new foreign direct investment in the innovation-driven, high value, high skills sector, and by working with the existing company base to expand its presence in Ireland by the addition of increased strategic functions. The Government recognises the need to achieve high value employment in Thurles and is committed to marketing the area as part of its national goal of achieving balanced regional development. The attractiveness of Thurles for inward investment has to be seen within a regional context, with the national spatial strategy providing a framework for the achievement of this goal.

The IDA has five supported companies in north Tipperary employing 610 people, one of which is in Thurles. Gilbert and Mellish, a pharmaceutical distributor, has purchased rights to a BSN Medical product and employs eight people in the Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles. In addition, investments by Taro Pharmaceutical Ireland in Roscrea and Taylor Made in Templemore will result in significant additional employment for north Tipperary generally and the surrounding towns.

Shannon Development works closely with IDA Ireland in the development of, and the promotion and marketing of, tailored property solutions to potential investors throughout the mid-west, including the development of Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles. Shannon Development's sectoral emphasis in the mid-west region is on attracting new knowledge-intensive projects in information communications and technology, globally traded businesses, medical technologies and life sciences. The agency has completed first stage development of Tipperary Technology Park, which includes 25,000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art accommodation to facilitate the attraction and development of knowledge-based enterprises. Associated with these activities, a major Government-funded marketing effort is underway, which involves Shannon Development, IDA Ireland, the local town council, LEADER, the North Tipperary County Enterprise Board and the Tipperary Institute, to promote the advantages of the town as an industrial location. There is confidence this effort will be successful in the medium term. In addition, Shannon Development continues to support the existing industrial base in Thurles.

Since the new building at the Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles was completed in August 2002, Shannon Development has been promoting space and facilities to the indigenous entrepreneur who wants to develop his or her own business. The facilities cater for "knowledge age" enterprises in the various stages of development — from the feasibility study stage to the venture capital stage and beyond. There are currently seven businesses operating from the incubator InnovationWorks Tipperary. The seven businesses currently operating in the incubator are involved in software development, marketing services, customer service call centre, back office operations, health and safety training materials and custom-designed burn garments respectively. Shannon Development, the North Tipperary County Enterprise Board and the Thurles Marketing Group also operate offices at the park. Three further companies occupy the larger expansion spaces on the park, namely, Digital Cinema, which is involved in a project to convert all the nations cinemas into digital cinemas; C&C Wholesale, which operates a customer service operation; and the vetting unit of the Garda Síochána. From a base of zero in 2002, there are currently over 100 people employed on the site across ten companies.

IDA Ireland and Shannon Development, as well as other agencies, are partners in the Thurles Marketing Group, which was established in 2002 with a view to developing a pilot marketing initiative in north Tipperary as part of the implementation of the County Economic and Cultural Strategy 2002-12. The focus of the marketing initiative is to promote Thurles as a location for business investment, both foreign direct and indigenous.