asked the Minister for Industry and Energy whether he has now given consideration to the request that the Government provide a subsidy towards the energy costs of the Mogul of Ireland mining operation at Silvermines, Nenagh, County Tipperary with a view to keeping the mines open for a period after the planned closing date of the end of July 1982 and thereby enable alternative employment to be found for the 500-strong workforce; if so, his decision on the request; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Silvermines (Tipperary) Mines.
18.
The operational costs and other factors which gave rise to the decision by Mogul of Ireland Ltd. to close down the mine at Silvermines, County Tipperary, not later than at the end of July 1982, have been under consideration in my Department for some time. I expect to be in a position very shortly to indicate the conclusions reached in the matter.
I would emphasise that I have not yet fully completed my assessment of the situation and I would not wish any assumption to be made, at this stage, as to the conclusion which will be reached.
Is the Minister aware that the company concerned have taken certain actions in relation to the mines which indicate clearly the intention to close down? Is the Minister aware also that some of these actions may have made recovery of further ore from the ground impossible? In these circumstances has the Minister taken any steps to ensure that the activities in question are stopped at least until he has had an opportunity to study in detail the consultants' report which is now available to him? Can the Minister tell us also whether he has received from Mogul a request for subsidisation? I am aware that he has received representations from public representatives in the area and from a special committee set up by various interested groups urging him to keep the mine open for another 12 to 18 months.
I have not received any specific request from the company in relation to the aspect to which the Deputy refers but the Deputy must be aware of the very limited amount of what is poor quality ore available at this mine. Therefore, it was not big news to any of us to hear that the situation of which the Deputy speaks would arise. It has been known for three or four years that the end was in sight.
The Minister has not answered my question about a request from the company for subsidisation. Is the Minister aware that the company have taken steps that will lead inevitably to the closure of the mines and, if so, has he taken any action to stop these activities?
In view of what the Deputy has said I will have my Department and the IDA contact the company immediately.
Is the Minister aware that redundancy notices are to be issued next week or the week after in this case and would he agree that this is a clear indication of the impending closure of the mines? Is he aware also of two previous applications that were made by this company for subvention, one in 1979 and another in 1981? I have checked these facts with the Mogul management.
The Deputy may have misunderstood what I said. I am aware of the application that was made in 1979 and also of the later one but I am not aware of the matter raised by Deputy Molony. However, as I have said, I will have my Department contact the mining people immediately. I might add, though, that a conclusion will not be reached on this matter until I have had an opportunity of meeting a deputation from the area within the next week or two, a deputation that will include representatives of the workers.
Because of what Deputy Molony has said and in view of the urgency of the situation, I should like to confirm what the previous speaker said, that there is a running down situation there. Unless the Minister is prepared to go in immediately the consequences will be so bad that he will not be able to do anything for them.
The Deputy is aware, like other Members, that the reason for the running down is that there is a limited amount of ore left in that mine. That is not news to him or to anybody else.
Surely the Minister should take immediate steps to stop this running down situation?
It has been know for some time. Other people were in Government for a period and knew what position would arise. There was no subvention left either.
The Minister's party refused a subvention on two occasions previously.
It is the responsibility of the Minister now.
I am calling the next question.
I wish to ask a final supplementary.
I am sorry, but I must move on to the next question.
19.
asked the Minister for Industry and Energy whether, in view of the planned imminent closure of the Mogul of Ireland mining operation at Silvermines, Nenagh, County Tipperary, he has any special plans to provide alternative employment for the 500 strong workforce; and, if so, what those plans are; when the alternative jobs will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In view of the company's decision to close the mine, the Industrial Development Authority and the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited have, in recent months, significantly intensified the job creation drive in the Nenagh area. The Authority have announced their intention to construct a 24,000 sq. ft. advance factory in the town which will be promoted for medium and large scale projects. Construction of the factory is expected to commence in September next. A 50-acre site is also being promoted by the IDA for medium to large scale industry.
In addition, the IDA, in co-operation with SFADCo, are holding special seminars for mine workers who are interested in establishing their own small industries. These efforts will be intensified and the IDA, SFADCo and the county development team will jointly take an office from Mogul on the mine site as long as is necessary to promote the establishment of new small industries. The IDA have indicated that they would provide specific ideas for new business opportunities from their data bank and redundancy money could greatly facilitate groups of workers in establishing their own businesses.
I would add that manufacturing employment in Nenagh has increased by 22 per cent over the last four years.
Arising out of the last comment by the Minister, that manufacturing employment in Nenagh has increased by 22 per cent——
So this information goes.
The information the Minister has is incorrect. Is the Minister aware that according to figures given in the House last week by the Taoiseach's Department unemployment in the Nenagh area has increased from 394 in April 1979 to 553 in April 1982?
It is a different brief.
Is the Minister aware that if the 500 workers in Mogul are let go it will have the effect of doubling the number of unemployed in the area? Is the Minister satisfied that in view of the fact he has had notice for the past three or four years, as indicated in his reply to No. 18, that the mine was going to close and in view of the fact that a Fianna Fáil Minister on two occasions rejected requests for subvention by the mines——
The Deputy is not asking a question, he is making a speech.
I am not. These are serious supplementary questions and the people of Nenagh are entitled to replies. Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient steps have been taken to ensure that alternative employment will be available for those people in July and not in two or three years time when the IDA manage to get somebody into the advance factory they are now building?
The Deputy is allowed to ask short supplementaries but he should not go on.
The Deputy is making a very long convoluted speech.
The Minister is well aware of the problems of the promises made in this House before.
The Deputy is well aware of the reason why the Mogul mine will close down. There is no need for him to put on a big bluffing act here. The reason is that the ore is running out and that there is a minor amount in a thin seam left. That is the only reason it is closing down and it is not due to any inaction by the Government or anybody else.
I asked the Minister what he is doing to solve the problem.
Is the Minister satisfied, in view of the traumatic effect this closure will have on the 500 workers, their families and the local economy, that the IDA have given top priority to the provision of a major replacement industry for this wasting industry which, as the Minister indicated, was on the way out in 1979? The ultimate outcome of the discussions that have taken place in the last three or four years is a promise of a 24,000 sq. ft. advance factory. Does the Minister agree that all the IDA should be doing is providing an advance factory that may provide work for the 500 workers in three or four years time? Is the Minister satisfied that that is progress?
We will never be satisfied until all possible jobs are placed throughout Ireland. I am as conscious as the Deputy of the traumatic effect unemployment creates in any area. The IDA must start somewhere and they have already taken steps in relation to Nenagh. The chief executive had discussions in Nenagh and SFADCo, whom I am sure the Deputy admires as I do for the efforts they made in that region, will be doing everything possible. There is no instant solution to the problem. One would think by the unrealistic questions put to me here that there was an instant solution to this problem and that factories could be pulled out of the air and placed in different areas. That is not on.
I am calling Deputy O'Leary for a final supplementary.
The Chair is exercising a firm rule here today and that is very interesting.
And I am sure the Deputy appreciates that.
We appreciate firm rule as long as there is firm rule on all sides. The Minister gave inaccurate information which he said was in his brief. I should like to ask him if incontrovertible information has been given from a superior source, the Taoiseach's Department, that unemployment increased in the Nenagh area as distinct from the little fairy tale the Minister was reading from? Will the Minister tell the House the serious steps he is going to take, as a Minister with an exemplary reputation in the media for action, to provide employment in Nenagh apart from reading his brief?
The Deputy should listen to what I am about to say. I said that manufacturing employment in Nenagh has increased by 22 per cent over the last four years but Deputy Molony said that the unemployment figures for the Nenagh area——
That is what we are concerned about.
I am concerned about the information given. I am telling the Deputy that the information given by Deputy Molony was an unemployment figure which comes from many other areas besides manufacturing industry. Deputies should not get hung up on what they think is inaccurate information. I should like to tell Deputy O'Leary that his inactivity for seven months did not help my situation. His allocation of a reduced amount to the IDA did not help the situation. The inactivity of the last Government and their efforts to destroy investment confidence in Ireland has not left my job any easier. Firstly, I must restore confidence before I can get investment here and I hope everybody is fully aware of what I have said.
That is a ridiculous statement.
Is the Minister satisfied — I am not — with the predictions of the IDA about the life of the mine? At a meeting on 3 December it was indicated to me that the life was September 1983. That indicates that the IDA were 18 months off target as regards projections. That is an important amount of time when one considers the need for a replacement industry. Surely I cannot be expected to have confidence in the IDA when their predictions are so wrong.
I have before me a detailed assessment on the mine. I will not comment on what Deputy Ryan has said until I have examined it in detail. The facts will emerge then as to what deposits are in that mine.
We know it is not the west of Ireland.
I am not surprised that such a heated exchange has taken place on this question in view of the fact that 500 people will find themselves out of work in a couple of months time. I should like to ask the Minister to ensure that in any future situation where a mine is about to close down proper steps are taken in advance to see to it that 500 people do not find themselves on the unemployment scrapheap. The opportunity was there, as the Minister indicated, since 1979 and I urge the Minister to ensure that the appropriate agencies, SFADCo and the IDA, co-ordinate a little better with the Minister's office and companies like Mogul so that this type of situation does not occur again.
The Deputy has my assurance.