asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number, names and nationalities of firms invited to submit tenders for the construction of the fertiliser factory at Arklow, County Wicklow, the number of tenders received, the names of the firms who submitted tenders, and the amount tendered in each case.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nitrogenous Fertiliser Factory.
43.
Consortiums of engineering firms comprising five British, four German, three American two French and one Belgian were invited to tender and tendered for the nitrogenous fertiliser factory at Arklow. It is known that four Irish civil engineering firms were associated with these tendering consortiums. The names of the successful contractors have already been announced and it would be undesirable to publicise the names of the unsuccessful tenderers or disclose the amounts of the tenders.
44.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if Blackwater Bog, Shannonbridge, County Offaly was recommended as a site for the fertiliser factory; and why it was not accordingly erected there.
The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. In August, 1958, Blackwater Bog was reserved as a source of milled peat for a factory for the production of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. In August, 1961, it was announced that Bord na Móna had requested that the Bog be released for electricity generation and that the Government had acceded to the request.
The second part of the question does not arise.
Is the Minister aware that at least three Ministers proposed that the fertiliser factory should be erected on the Blackwater Bog? Surely the Minister is further aware that at least four of the five Deputies representing the constituency were present at conferences at which one of the leading experts of Bord na Móna announced that he was a party to the recommendation that the Blackwater bog should be used as the site for the fertiliser factory?
Other representatives of the Deputy's constituency put down questions to two successive Ministers and on each occasion they were informed that no decision regarding the location of the factory had been taken and that there was a reservation of the bog in the event of milled peat being one of the materials to be used.
Is it not a fact that if the Avoca Mines had been successful, the fertiliser factory would have been erected in my constituency but when the Avoca Mines failed the local people were compensated by giving them this factory?
Long before the Avoca Mines became a factor, Avoca was decided on as one of the most likely locations.
One of the most likely, but not the site.