Deputies quiz Jobs Minister on closure of  C & C Plant

The closure of the C & C bottling plant in Borrisoleigh was raised in the Dáil by Tipperary Deputies Mattie McGrath, Noel Coonan, Michael Lowry and Seamus Healy.

Deputy McGrath said the   Gleeson plant in Borrisoleigh and Bulmers in Clonmel have a huge heritage and a very dedicated and diligent workforce. “I salute the workforce there and sympathise with them and their families in their plight, having heard this news in the way they did, through the media. They were told  that the group CEO, Mr. Clancy, was flying in from England, but he is not flying anywhere. I have an e-mail here from Tom McCusker, who says there is no one coming into the country today and he is dealing with it. Here we are with a merry-go-round. There is no accountability, no responsibility and no goodwill shown to the workers and their families. It is despicable.”

Deputy Noel Coonan said he wished to ask Minister Richard Bruton a few questions on the 80 jobs that are being approved in Clonmel and the €10 million investment, which is welcome. “Will the workers in Borrisoleigh who are losing their jobs have priority for those jobs?” he asked. “Could the Minister outline to the House and the general public the extent to which efforts were made by the Minister and his Department to dissuade C&C from closing its plant in Borrisoleigh? What carrots were given that might have kept that plant open, which seems to the general public to be very economical and which has provided magnificent employment for more than 200 people down through the years? What is going to happen to the plant now?”

Deputy Seamus Healy said when C&C acquired Bulmers in Clonmel and Gleesons, people were told of a bright future with expansion plans, but in fact the opposite happened and the company shredded jobs, in both Clonmel and Borrisoleigh, and slashed wages and conditions of employment. “The closure of the Borrisoleigh plant is completely unnecessary and is being done solely in the pursuit of more profit. It is about greed. This company is already very profitable. Its latest half-year accounts, to the end of September of last year, show a profit of €62.5 million.”

Deputy Lowry asked Minister Bruton if he would publicly sanction the company for the manner in which it has conducted its affairs in that respect? “I have raised this issue here on a number of occasions because, from the time C&C took over M&J Gleeson, it had one purpose and one purpose only, namely, to run it down, take its brands and close the factory. The Minister, all his officials and everybody in the Department were aware that there were problems with this company.”

In response Minister Bruton said since the purchase of M.J. Gleeson and Company a number of years ago, C&C has been engaged in restructuring of certain elements of its business. “The decision announced  is part of a company-wide restructuring, particularly of its manufacturing base, which the company has undertaken following the loss of material contracts for private label water which has led to serious underutilisation of capacity in both the Irish and the United Kingdom plants and undermined their competitiveness.”

He said he had spoken to senior management at the company in the past couple of days since this surfaced and urged them to see if the decision could be reconsidered but, unfortunately, this is not possible given the commercial realities they face.

“The C&C Group announced yesterday that, following a detailed review of its manufacturing and operational footprint, it intends to consolidate production from sites in Shepton Mallet in England and in Borrisoleigh in its manufacturing site in Clonmel,” he said. “Under this proposal, production and packaging will be transferred on a phased basis from the facility in Borrisoleigh. Consequently, Clonmel will become the core manufacturing site for Bulmers and Magners cider, Tipperary Water and the company's range of niche premium beers and ciders. In support of the proposal, the company is committed to invest in excess of €10 million in enhancing the packaging and logistics capability in Clonmel and the creation of 80 additional jobs. This is designed to put Irish-based employment in the company on a secure and competitive footing. The company has indicated that Borrisoleigh will remain as a key transport hub and both logistics and warehousing operations will be maintained in the town.”

He said the company has also indicated that where possible the workers at Borrisoleigh will be offered alternative employment at the expansion in Clonmel. Regrettably, net roles lost in Ireland across the company's operational network are estimated to be 54 jobs.