Deputy Ivan Yates gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of the loss of some 30 jobs at Buttles bacon factory, Enniscorthy, County Wexford. The Deputy has some 20 minutes to make his case and the Minister of State has some ten minutes to reply.
Adjournment Debate. - Enniscorthy (County Wexford) Factory Job Losses.
First, I wish to thank you, Sir, most sincerely for allowing this topic, so important to the people of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, to be debated. I know that on the first day the Dáil resumed there were many requests for such a debate and also that you attach great seriousness to this problem and, consequently, have allowed it to be taken.
I wish also to notify you, Sir, of my wish to share some of my time with Deputy John Brown who is also from Enniscorthy.
It is quite in order.
We have had a traditional industry in Enniscorthy for very many decades of killing and processing pigs. Buttles "barley fed" bacon company have a long tradition in Enniscorthy town of providing high quality employment over a long number of years. It is symptomatic of the tradition of pig producing in County Wexford, of the pig co-operatives and the large number of pig producers in the area. In recent years this company changed hands and were taken over by another experienced business family, the Wilsons. The number of killings went up very substantially, with, on average, some 1,200 pigs per week being killed. These pigs were being slaughtered, cured and fully processed in Enniscorthy.
From the IDA's experience of trying to compete with imports of Danish and Dutch pigmeat a centralised slaughtering policy was developed. For many years the Oireachtas Members for County Wexford have been trying to seek some commitment from the IDA that they would successfully try to ensure that the maximum number of pig processing jobs would be retained at Enniscorthy. Unfortunately, the centralised pig slaughtering unit was located in Waterford. Buttles was part of a greater conglomerate so this summer when the slaughtering unit was relocated 27 jobs were lost. The feeling locally was that it was State policy which engineered the jobs out of Enniscorthy. There was a great deal of resentment among those who lost their jobs and in the town generally. Unfortunately, now we are faced with the fatal confirmation that the remaining jobs are to be lost to the town, and may I briefly quote from a company statement this week:
Due to the non-viability of the current operation the Company is unable to formulate plans to ensure the long term future of the business. As a result the company is forced to cease operations on 31st December 1988.
This is another very heavy body blow to the town of Enniscorthy. This area was recognised back in the late seventies in a south-eastern regional development organisation report as a black spot of unemployment.
There will be great sadness this week in Enniscorthy that the skills and dedication of this workforce and the whole tradition of pig producing and processing is going to be lost to the area. It would cost anybody else a great deal of money to train and develop those skills in another area. As is always the case in these instances, the local TDs are blamed for a lack of clout and effectiveness in securing a replacement industry or in ensuring the protection of jobs. Deputy Brown and I are not in any way trying to score political points. The issue is simply too serious in Enniscorthy town. The decimation of employment in the town has been so great that we met senior executives of the IDA earlier this year to try to get some commitment to develop a processing unit. At present the carcases of the slaughtered animals are being brought from Waterford to Enniscorthy. We were unable to get any commitment for that or for a replacement industry.
I must say that there is the depth of disappointment in the Enniscorthy area and at public representative level at the way the IDA have blatantly ignored the needs of Enniscorthy. This is a source of great regret because they are charged with the job of developing industries and have responsibility for creating jobs. Unfortunately they have neglected that. I have to say publicly tonight that I have the feeling that when the IDA speak about Wexford county they really speak about Wexford town because what New Ross, Gorey and Enniscorthy have got over recent years is negligible. We really must have a major industry. We have had a great deal of discussion about a site at Edermine for a pharmaceutical plant. We have had a brochure allegedly promoted worldwide but we have nothing to show for any of these efforts. We have had designation but we have nothing to show for it. There has been an overall national reduction in the rate of IDA grant-aid.
In addition to this body blow I have heard in recent hours that another traditional industry, a mill, is threatening to lay off more people. I was not aware of this and I must say it comes as a personal shock because I had been informed of a merger with a larger milling enterprise, with three companies merging into one to protect the jobs. We will have to take that up later.
The people of Enniscorthy are looking to the Oireachtas Members for some answer to this situation. Recently there was a deputation to Deputy Joe Walsh and there is another planned to Deputy Albert Reynolds. There have been successive deputations to successive Ministers and there has been very little to show for it all. I ask for commitment here tonight from the Government that the IDA would see it as a priority area and get some new project for the area, or at least an advance factory.
There are a few specific points which I will refer to briefly. It has been alleged that the reason for the closure of this plant was that veterinary staff in the Department of Agriculture and Food said that it was not up to EC standards. It has been the case for some years that the Department have had reservations. I do not think it is fair to blame the Department solely for this, for the simple reason that they have been willing, with the back-up of grants and other aids, to sit down and look at conversion, replacement of equipment or to look at a greenfield site to see what way the enterprise could be assisted. We were given commitments by the IDA at Oireachtas level that if the management did come forward with a plan there would be a future.
I make an appeal here tonight to the management to continue operations in Enniscorthy and to use this as an opportunity to develop a new greenfield plant. I believe if there was such a willingness by management that would be reciprocated by a willingness in the Department to accommodate them with whatever EC licence was required.
Basically, there is a need for goodwill on both sides to try to resolve this problem. I would like the Minister to state whether there have been meetings between the Department and management to try to see if there is any way the EC technical problems could be resolved.
In conclusion — I do not wish to labour the point — there is desolation in Enniscorthy at the successive body blows to employment. Barna Buildings have been closed. There have been major job losses in Buttles, not only now but previously, and also in Davis's Flour Mills. There are only a couple of major employers in Enniscorthy — one on the service side, Donohoe's , and Wexal. There are some smaller factories like Wexspeed and the post-Janelle factory, Wennas. There is very little employment in the area. There is nothing facing the young people of Enniscorthy, not to speak of the people in their forties and fifties who are losing their jobs, only emigration. That is very sad for a small town that is beside the gateway to Europe — Rosslare — and that has some of the best infrastructural facilities. We feel at the end of the day that we have been neglected. I would call on the Minister to use whatever powers he has in Government and to use the resources of all the different Government agencies to come to the rescue of Enniscorthy and give it priority status.
I thank Deputy Yates for allocating some of his time to me tonight. The threatened closure of Buttles bacon factory in Enniscorthy, as Deputy Yates has pointed out, has caused consternation and a lack of faith in the Government's ability to do anything about the unemployment problem there. The local paper this week stated: "Government Regulations have finally brought the decision to close Enniscorthy's century-old bacon factory." Last week a deputation from Enniscorthy urban council visited the Minister with responsibility for food, Deputy Joe Walsh, who told us that there was an unlimited amount of money available for the development of Buttles factory in Enniscorthy. Yet one week later we hear that it is to be closed because of Government regulations. That position should be clarified here tonight. What are the Government regulations that are closing down this factory? They should be spelled out loud and clear so that the public will know the real reasons for the closure of the factory.
This factory is one of the major traditional industries in Enniscorthy. At one stage there was well over 100 people employed there. As a result of the opening of the centralised slaughtering plant in Waterford over 30 jobs were lost in July. It seems ironic that we would grant-aid a slaughtering plant in Waterford which would result in the loss of jobs in Enniscorthy. It was bad enough to lose that many jobs but we were assured at that time that the processing end of the industry in Enniscorthy would be developed and that there would be the possibility of creating extra jobs. All sorts of promises were made. We find now, two or three months later, that the factory is to be closed.
I agree with Deputy Yates about the IDA. We had meetings in Dublin with the IDA following the opening of the centralised slaughtering unit in Waterford. They had no answers and made no commitment. They had a total lack of interest in Enniscorthy town and the surrounding area which employs over 2,000 people. It is 4 percentage points above the national average for unemployment. There is a total lack of job opportunities in the Enniscorthy area. The only thing that is facing the young people there is the emigrant ship. There are hundreds of young people from Enniscorthy town in England, Europe and America because of the lack of job opportunities and the lack of decision-making by the IDA, by previous Governments and, unfortunately, by the Ministers in this Government in charge of industry and food development. There does not seem to be any interest whatsoever in the Enniscorthy area.
Enniscorthy town was traditionally a strong agricultural marketing town and shopping area. It depended mainly on the large agricultural hinterland for its development. Unfortunately, the recession in agriculture has seriously affected the commercial life of the town. It is not good enough to say that this company is closing down and to just walk away from it. It is important that the Government Ministers wake up to the fact that Wexford, and particularly Enniscorthy, is entitled to its fair share of grant-aid out of the millions of pounds that are available at present for food processing, particularly for bacon and meat processing.
With Clover Meats and Buttles, Wexford was regarded as the home of the bacon industry. Today that is in a shambles and there have been severe job losses. It is a scandal that Wexford which produces the raw material has no food processing plant. The food is processed in other counties where there is tremendous job potential. The jobs should be retained in our own county, particularly in the Enniscorthy area. I would ask the Minister here tonight — I know he is standing in for the Minister with responsibility for food who is away on other business — to bring home the message to the Minister that we cannot afford to lose Buttles factory in Enniscorthy because it will cause serious unemployment. Every avenue should be explored to encourage Harry Wilson and his brothers, the owners, to keep the factory open in Enniscorthy. I will quote from another section of the paper which states: "Harry Wilson and his brothers did everything possible to ‘keep the ship afloat' but they were frustrated in every move they made". If there are ways that the ship can be kept afloat it is important that the IDA and the State agencies intervene immediately to save the jobs of the people who remain there.
I had hoped that when the centralised slaughtering unit opened in Waterford the Wilson brothers would be able to develop the processing industry in Enniscorthy and possibly build a new factory on a green field site. They seem to be steering away from that at present. It is time that, through pressure from State agencies and from Ministers, we got the Wilson brothers to rethink their decision. We should make available whatever financial sweeteners are necessary to encourage them to stay in Enniscorthy and to create further jobs for our people. We cannot afford to lose any more jobs in Enniscorthy. We cannot afford to let our highly skilled and highly educated young people emigrate to other countries where their skills will be put to use.
I appeal to the Minister again to intervene tomorrow morning to ensure that the State agencies concerned rescue the company so that jobs will not be lost. In the days ahead we should discuss with Mr. Wilson the possibility of keeping the factory open because we cannot afford to lose any more jobs. We need new industries for the Enniscorthy area and it is time that the IDA gave some priority to Enniscorthy town and district. The local authority, both urban and county council, have provided the infrastructures there and it is up to the IDA and the Minister to see that we get our fair share of the national cake in Enniscorthy.
At the outset I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Deputy Ivan Yates and Deputy John Brown in speaking on the loss of jobs at Buttles bacon factory in Enniscorthy. As the Deputies know a major rationalisation and modernisation programme is under way in the pigmeat sector. The programme involves total investment of £140 million over the five years to 1992 and it has an ambitious job creation target of close to 1,500 new jobs. Investments under the programme qualify for generous IDA support as well as for EC FEOGA aid at the rate of 50 per cent of cost.
The aim of the programme is to create a modern and efficient pig slaughtering and processing industry capable of competing on equal terms with the best on offer in the Community as a whole and one which meets the most stringent EC and USDA hygienic and veterinary standards. The programme envisages the establishment of about eight slaughtering plants, capable of handling a minimum of 6,000 pigs per week. These centralised slaughtering units would also be the source of carcase supplies for a number of specialised processing plants located throughout the country. A number of major investments have already been completed under the programme; work on other projects is well under way while some others are at an advanced planning stage. The success of the programme to date can be gauged from the fact that since June 1987 over £10 million in FEOGA aid and £11 million in national funds have been allocated for pigmeat projects. A further allocation of EC funding is expected in December.
As part of this rationalisation and modernisation programme slaughtering of pigs will cease at a number of the smaller plants and transfer to more modern units where efficiencies and economies of scale will lead to reduced slaughtering costs. In the case of Buttles bacon factory, slaughtering ceased in August last and Buttles processing requirements are now sourced from the newly opened Queally plant at Grannagh, County Kilkenny. The job losses at Buttles have occurred at the slaughter end only; processing is continuing at the plant with up to 30 people now employed there.
The future prosperity of the Irish pigmeat industry is very much dependent on the creation of an efficient and modern slaughtering and processing sector. It has been recognised by Governments over a number of years that the creation of efficient and modern facilities depend on the adoption of a major programme of rationalisation and modernisation. Of its nature it is inevitable that such a programme will involve some relocation of employment. While this has happened in the case of slaughtering at Buttles, curing and processing is continuing at Enniscorthy.
Continued participation in the pigmeat industry of the future requires facilities which are of the highest standard. This becomes more and more important as we move closer to 1992 and the single market.
Let me refer briefly to a number of points which the two Deputies made. The Department have been very understanding with Buttles. They have been in contact with management with a view to improving facilites in Enniscorthy, but unfortunately there was no response to those overtures and the Department have refrained from renewing approval for continued processing at Buttles in the hope that the situation would improve there. It is obviously a commercial decision to close and the decision is very much in the hands of those who are involved with the plant there.
Deputy Yates referred to the deputation which came to meet my colleague, Minister Joe Walsh. IDA representatives were present when the delegation were told that if management came forward with suitable proposals for investment they would be fully considered.
Generous State and EC FEOGA assistance is available for those who draw up suitable investment proposals. It is imperative that all serious participants should now come forward with their plans if they are not to miss the opportunities of 1992.
The Dáil adjourned at 7.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 20 October 1988.