Adjournment Debate. - Tuam Sugar Factory. – Dáil Éireann (24th Dáil) – Wednesday, 3 Dec 1986

Adjournment Debate. - Tuam Sugar Factory.

Mr. Kitt

I sincerely thank you for allowing me to raise this matter and I also want to thank the Minister for coming in to reply. I wish to allocate some of my time to Deputy Treacy.

I raised this matter in the Dáil on 18 November and I asked the Minister for Agriculture if he would have discussions with the management of Comhlucht Siúicre Éireann to avert the scaling down of operations in the Tuam sugar factory. The Minister of State, Deputy Hegarty, replied as follows:

When the Government decided in December 1983 that the proposal of Siúicre Éireann to cease production of sugar at Tuam should not then be proceeded with, they indicated that a substantial saving in the cost of operating the factory must be achieved and that this would involve a significant reduction in the workforce.

However, the Minister did not answer the question I asked in regard to having discussions with the management and, even though I asked two further supplementary questions in relation to the scaling down of the factory, the Minister did not give any guarantees. The Minister said, sarcastically, that he was sure I paid rate heed to what the management said.

At a recent meeting of Macra na Feirme in Galway, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Company said that unless the Tuam factory was closed down the sugar industry would collapse by 1990. The Minister of State, who attended the conference, said that the Tuam factory would not be closed until an alternative industry could be located in Tuam. That was not a very helpful statement by the Minister because over 2,500 people are unemployed in the greater Tuam area and it is not just a question of alternative employment but of providing a new industry.

I have noticed over the last few years that efforts have been made by the management of CSET to scale down operations in Tuam. Earlier this year, it was closed temporarily for two months, twice as long as the factory in Thurles, but that was the longest closure in the history of the company. Can the Minister say if there will be further closures of a temporary nature in 1987 which may last for three or four months? There is no representative from Tuam or indeed from any part of County Galway on the board of CSET; 140 jobs have been lost in the Tuam factory over the last four years and none of the £70 million capital which was voted in the Houses of the Oireachtas in 1982 has been spent in Tuam. There has been no plant modernisation and there has now been a hasty decision to let 200 workers go when they were expecting a Christmas bonus. These people are mainly farmers who have already suffered cuts in their pay cheques as a result of the drop in beet yields because of bad weather.

The money voted here in 1982 gave confidence to farmers and, in 1983, beet acreage increased to 8,500, double the figure of the previous two years. However, the sugar company constantly knock Tuam and refer every year to a cost penalty of £3 million. Could the Minister find out why a cost penalty of £3 million is quoted every year by the management when this year there has been a smaller throughput of beet and costs have been cut in the factory over the last couple of years? It is about time that the company stopped using this figure, as local accountants and those on the workers' committee know that it is not true.

A hasty decision has been made to finish the beet campaign in Tuam. Beet was available for such a campaign to continue and the Minister should ensure that the factory in Tuam is treated in the same way as other factories. The campaign was supposed to continue until 12 December and, as late as last Friday, according to The Tuam Herald, sugar beet was dumped in the Tuam factory, weighed, reloaded and transported to Thurles. This was deplored by the unions who had fought strenuously to continue the beet campaign. It also amazed the local Minister of State, Deputy Connaughton. Who thought that the campaign would continue. Indeed, this was the view of all the public representatives in the east and west Galway areas.

It is time that a firm line was taken with the sugar company and that some of our questions are answered. It has been a particularly cruel blow to have a campaign lasting slightly longer than two weeks when, normally, it would continue up to Christmas. Hauliers have been told not to bring sugar beet to Tuam and to divert it to other factories which is a further indication of the scaling down of the factory in Tuam. I understand that samples of beet are being sent to other factories. I should like the Minister to give a guarantee that there will be no more temporary closures and laying off of staff. I understand there are proposals to reduce the office staff to eight employees by Christmas. A firm line must be taken with the sugar company because the Tuam factory is very important to the farmers in the areas who should be encouraged to grow beet. It is also very important to the workforce, business people and the whole community. The factory has given great employment and we want that to continue. Will the Minister have talks with the management regarding the scaling down of the company and try to ensure that the factory in Tuam will not be run down?

Mr. N. Treacy

I am grateful for the opportunity of raising this matter and I support my colleague in our collective efforts to ensure that something can be done, even at this late stage, to change the discriminatory decision that has been made by the managing director of the sugar company without any Government intervention. This is obviously an effort by the management of the sugar company to close down the Tuam factory. Recently, a member of the Government party, Professor Tom Rafferty, attended the national Macra na Feirme conference in Galway and stated that the factory should be closed down. So far as I am concerned that is a total disgrace from a Galway man whose family have supplied beet to this factory for many years. The following evening at the same conference the managing director of Irish Sugar, Mr. Chris Comerford, a man who prior to his appointment was very much in favour of the Tuam sugar factory but who now, with the reins of office and in a safe seat, if he is in a safe seat, stated that the Tuam sugar factory was not viable and should be closed. That is a disgrace coming from a public servant, a man paid by the tax-payers of the nation, paid by the major shareholder in that company to supposedly work in the interests of all the people of the country.

I would like to illustrate the reasons we are very suspicious of the serious situation prevailing in the west vis-à-vis the Tuam sugar factory. On Saturday 22 November, 150 loads of beet totalling 3,200 tonnes were brought to the factory. On Monday 24 November the intake was 110 loads totalling 2,200 tonnes and on the following day 120 loads totalling 2,300 tonnes were brought to the factory. On that very day Mr. Comerford and the management in Dublin gave directives to the management in Tuam, to the people on the weighbridge in Tuam and to the hauliers that no more beet was to be taken from outside County Galway into the Tuam sugar factory. Not alone that but all hauliers from outside the county were given specific instructions on Tuesday 25 November that they were to take no more beet into the Tuam sugar factory, that it was to be taken instead to Carlow. Farmers in County Offaly, even in some parts of County Galway and in other counties in the traditional Tuam sugar catchment area were given instructions by the staff of Irish Sugar and CSET that their beet should be taken to the Carlow factory. That was at a time when there was over 2,000 tonnes of beet a day, 3,000 tonnes on certain days, coming in to the Tuam sugar factory.

Despite that situation the following day 2,184 tonnes or 116 loads of beet came into the factory in Tuam. After that the effects of these directives began to take their toll. Only 800 tonnes or 80 loads came in on Thursday 27 November and on the Friday, the day the announcement was made by Mr. Comerford to terminate the campaign in Tuam, only 700 tonnes or 66 loads of beet were taken in. We accept that there have been two disastrous years vis-à-vis Irish agriculture and I would like if the Minister of State would listen to these facts. We know that yields have been down 30 to 40 per cent but that is not the fault of the farmers in the west or of the workers in the Tuam sugar factory, it is due to the weather conditions prevailing in our country. Despite the bad weather of two years ago and also this year, 8,500 acres of beet were contracted for in the Tuam sugar beet catchment area. Despite the inclement weather 7,500 acres were sown. We should contrast that with the efforts made in 1981 when only 4,000 acres of beet were grown in the Tuam sugar catchment area. There has been a 100 per cent increase in sugar beet growing in our area in the past three to four years but the Government have failed to acknowledge this. Neither has there been any acknowledgement of it by the management of Irish Sugar. We have had a campaign this year, starting on 3 October, of only four weeks, normally it is eight weeks.

There is a major shortage of pulp because Tuam has been the traditional pulp producing factory in the Irish Sugar group and only 3,500 tones of pulp will be produced this year. There is a demand for a further 10,000 to 11,000 tonnes of pulp. It is impossible to get it. The fact is it is not being processed or produced in the other factories. On the way to the Dáil on Tuesday I was held up in Athlone for half and hour because of three articulated trucks, each carrying 30 tonnes of beet, travelling from the Tuam sugar factory to Carlow. They were holding up traffic and taking beet from an area in which there is a factory able to process that beet and which should have that beet. Today, 25 articulated trucks each carrying at least 30 tonnes of beet have left the Tuam factory. It is an absolute joke in modern times where we need proper, efficient and effective financial management of our affairs that on one side of the entrance to Tuam are tractors and trailers and lorries of beet from County Galway while on the far side big articulated trucks take out 1,000 tonnes of beet a day from the Tuam sugar factory.

Mr. Comerford has made serious statements. He has said that the amount of beet in the Tuam ara could be processed in Carlow or in some factory in Europe in two and a half to three days. He is not comparing like with like because the Tuam factory does not have the benefit of the type of investment in modern technology which went into the other factories in the Irish Sugar group. All this has happened since Fianna Fáil left office in 1982. When we were in office in 1982, as my colleague Deputy Kitt said, we made that money available but when the Government returned to office they reneged on that decision. As the major shareholder in Irish Sugar they have reneged on the farmers in the west and on the sugar factory and have not invested money in modernising the plant. Therefore, we are not comparing like with like.

The position in the Carlow factory at present is that they are chock-a-block with beet. It is not able to take the beet coming in from Tuam. There are hold ups and delays and the only place where that beet should be processed is in Tuam where traditionally it would have been processed. It is obvious that the Government are allowing the management and the managing director of Irish Sugar to slowly but surely wind down the Tuam sugar factory and grind it to a halt. Last Friday I went to meet the workers in Tuam. I can tell you that it is a very sad place to be. The people are totally demoralised and frustrated. All the temporary workers have been let go. They have suffered a loss in wages of something in the region of £1,000 to £2,000 each. Small farmers, many of whom are unemployed and many other people who have no land at all, have to go home for the winter with 100 per cent less income than they had this time last year. The permanent workforce will lose in the region of between £800 to £2,000 in their wages as a result of the management decision.

Last Saturday the management of Irish Sugar went to Tuam to discuss proposed redundancies in the Tuam sugar factory. There is now talk that 80 per cent of the permanent workforce will be made redundant for six months. There are 155 permanent workers in Tuam. Between 1981 and 1982 there were 100 voluntary redundancies in order to make the Tuam factory efficient and viable. There has been 55 years of total industrial co-operation without any strikes in Tuam. There has been a total commitment from the farmers in the west and there has been total discrimination. Last week, there was a decision of the management to suppress information and news to the farmers, the workers and the people of this country when specific instructions were given to prevent RTE and the media from going into the factory to see the beet being processed, to see the intake of beet and to see what was happening. That is obvious discrimination.

It is a disgrace that the Minister of State, Deputy Connaughton, is not in this House tonight. He is representative for that consituency. He is the man responsible for western development. He is probably listening in the cosiness of his office to this debate. It would be more fitting for him to show some commitment and at least to contribute to this debate on behalf of the workers and the farmers in east County Galway and the west generally. His voice should be heard in this House on their behalf. I compliment my colleague, Deputy Kitt, and also Senator Hussey who are here for this debate tonight.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy should not refer to someone who is not entitled to be in the Chamber or who is not in the Chamber as being in it.

Mr. N. Treacy

It is a passing reference to someone who is reneging on his responsibilities.

An Ceann Comhairle

It is a misleading statement.

Mr. N. Treacy

I regret it, therefore, if that is the position but these are the facts. They may not sound too nice but I am calling on the Minister of State to make a plea immediately to the Taoiseach and the Government to rescind the decision of Irish Sugar, their managing director and board of directors to terminate the processing of beet in Tuam and to direct immediately that the campaign in Tuam be continued forthwith, that the temporary workers be taken back and that positive support be given to the workers, the farmers, the hauliers and everybody involved in the processing of beet in Tuam. This must be done for the sake of Irish Sugar and for beet growing and agriculture in the west.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture (Mr. Hegarty)

Deputies are well aware that this year's beet campaign has been very difficult. As a beet grower myself I am very aware of it. The difficulty has arisen from a combination of two factors. One is the low beet yield because of the exceptionally bad weather during the growing season. That applied nationwide. The other is also due to the weather. Since harvesting commenced it has been exceptionally difficult to get into many fields on many days. The Deputies may have seen on television farmers in the Tuam area trying to go into fields in appalling conditions. This has, of course, interfered with deliveries to all factories and has prevented the build-up of sufficient stocks to keep them operating satisfactorily. The problem of continuity of supply has been facing the company all through the campaign so far at each of the factories. Normally stocks of beet build up in the yard and people are screaming for dockets. This year they almost take the beet off the harvesters. The Tuam factory is the most seriously affected. The campaign did not begin there until 4 November, a number of weeks after it began elsewhere. Even since processing commenced — and this was deferred twice to allow farmers to harvest sufficient quantities — supplies of beet delivered were well below requirements.

The other three factories have also been badly hit and by the evening of 27 November — last Thursday — in no case was there more than one day's supply of beet on hand for processing. This was a very serious situation. To put it into perspective I should say that four days' supply is the minimum requirement in normal circumstances to ensure a reasonable prospect of uninterrupted processing. In the case of Tuam there was at that stage only 400 tonnes in the yard. To operate to capacity the factory needs to process about 2,000 tonnes per day.

Mr. N. Treacy

It was not allowed in.

Mr. Hegarty

Having regard to the fact that the factory had been running well under capacity since the campaign began, that supplies of beet had almost dried up and that there was little prospect of a sufficiency being harvested in the immediate future, the company had to take their decision in the light of the situation facing them at that time. That decision was to terminate the campaign two weeks earlier than planned.

In the abnormal circumstances which confronted them at that stage the company were obliged to take measures to safeguard the campaign as a whole — in all of its factories. This entailed the transfer of the limited quantity of beet available for processing in the Tuam area to other factories.

I have visited the Tuam factory many times and in the past I represented growers. I regret as much as any other Deputy in the House that this decision had to be taken. I regret, in particular, the loss to so many temporary workers and the continued uncertainty for the permanent staff. Nevertheless, we cannot fly in the face of reality, and the reality is as I have outlined it. Indeed, the company's decision reflects the type of day to day operational responsibility which the Government devolve on any State-sponsored body. Siúicre Éireann is a commercial body and is obliged to act in a commercial manner and in the national interest, including the interest of the tax-payer. It would be inappropriate for me, or for my Department, to seek to get involved in day-to-day operational activities such as those we are now discussing.

Mr. N. Treacy

The Minister is the Shareholder.

Mr. Hegarty

Since the decision to terminate processing at Tuam there has been some improvement in the weather. This enabled the other three factories to operate at full capacity this week, so far. However, I understand that the amount of beet coming from the Tuam growing area has been less than 1,000 tonnes per day and, even with the addition of this beet, the continuing supply position of the other three factories cannot be guaranteed.

The problems affecting the sugar beet harvest — and I do not remember worse — provide further evidence of the impact of this year's disastrous summer on the agricultural industry, and on the beet industry in particular, and it is the responsibility of all parties interested in the future of the industry to ensure that this latest difficulty is tackled in a practical and realistic way.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 3 Dec 1986

Adjournment Debate. - Tuam Sugar Factory.

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 3 Dec 1986