I will first address Deputy Cowen's questions. He asked about morale and whether I was aware of the motion circulated by the trade unions recently. I am aware of it but do not agree with it. I have every confidence in the managing director of Bord na Móna who has done an excellent job since his appointment. I have observed him in action and will have a very good working relationship with him in future. I look forward to that and do not envisage any difficulty in that respect.
The Deputy also asked about the fairness of the lay-offs and cutbacks which unfortunately had to be implemented in light of the catastrophic failure of the harvest due to the weather. As the Deputy will appreciate, in harvesting turf one needs a four-day stretch of good weather to complete a cycle. This summer we had few extended periods of good weather. That is the simple reason.
The board has met on four occasions over the past two months and has been continuously kept up to date by management on progress on the harvest since it became apparent that there could be a problem. We have met and continually revised the estimates of the harvest and actions that needed to be taken to mitigate the effects of these estimates. At our most recent meeting, the board decided on a course of action that I fully support. I have no difficulty in taking full responsibility for all the decisions the board has taken since I joined it and I will continue to take full responsibility for all decisions it makes during my membership.
While the question of fairness will arise, it is the policy of the board that decisions shall be as fair as possible and should not be targeted at particular individuals. However, they must be effective in the prudent management of the company's resources in this extremely difficult time. Further decisions will have to be taken in relation to the next financial year. For the moment, I believe what we are doing this year will be sufficient for this year. However, I cannot give any undertaking that more serious measures will not have to be taken. Some of the solutions that were put in place in the mid-1980s, when lay-offs also occurred, are not available to the board at this stage.
The Deputy rightly pointed out that there have been losses in AES, the waste recovery business that was acquired by Bord na Móna some years ago, and the company had to take a write-down on that asset this year. Everything possible is being done to try to turn that around but it is a very difficult business to be in at the moment. Other companies in the same business are experiencing even worse difficulties than AES because of increased landfill levies and other issues. It is not the kind of business that Bord na Móna thought it was going to be when it took the decision to get involved in it. That business must be turned around and will be.
A question was posed regarding the closing of workshops and the asset exercise that is under way. That is an ongoing exercise that will have to be looked at in the light of the development of works in the relevant areas. I do not have the details of it with me but the unions and employees are being kept fully informed on the progress and the outcome will be subject to negotiation and, hopefully, agreement at an appropriate time.
The issue of education and the intake of apprentices was raised but I do not have information on that at the moment. It is something I have not looked at yet but I will do so and find out how it is being managed. I agree that it is important that Bord na Móna plays a part in the training of apprentices and the suggestion that we seek collaboration with other educational institutions is an interesting one which I will follow up on.
The Deputy asked about my attitude to parts of the business being up for sale, which is something that I referred to in my opening statement. We now have a very complex situation and there are lots of other interests to be taken into account in the development of Bord na Móna going forward. The decisions on which parts are put up for sale, if any, or on whether Bord na Móna is merged with some other company - there was talk of it being merged with Coillte - are not for the board of Bord na Móna to take. Those decisions will be taken by the Government. I am conscious that NewERA is in place now and that any major investment decisions will go through that process as well, so it becomes quite a complex matter. As far as the board of Bord na Móna is concerned, we want to play the fullest part we can in using the very considerable and valuable resources we have for the benefit of the communities in which it operates and of the shareholder and the country at large. That is a very onerous responsibility but there is great potential there.
I will now address Deputy O'Mahony's questions. Bord na Móna
was one of the first organisations to enter the wind energy business, with the development of the wind farm at Bellacorick. I remember seeing it when it went up first and was amazed at it. It was a very innovative idea at the time. Bord na Móna puts a lot of emphasis on innovation and spends a very large proportion of its budget, relatively speaking, on innovation. It has a very definite programme of innovation that is targeted and monitored by the board on a monthly basis. As part of the board papers we get a detailed report on how many innovation projects are going on - currently over 100 - and at what stage they are at. Innovation is absolutely crucial to the success of the company and enormous effort is put into that area. It is very important that we work with local communities, particularly in relation to wind energy, and we will continue to do so. We have a good track record in dealing with local communities and planning authorities with respect to large infrastructure projects. That is a very valuable asset that exists within the competence of Bord na Móna
but it must be harnessed and put to work.
To be frank with the Deputy regarding the Mayo lands, I am not sure I fully understand all of the issues involved in that yet. I had a very short briefing note on the matter but need to look into it further. I assure the Deputy that I will examine it in detail and see if progress can be made.