I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I thank the Chair for the opportunity to raise this important matter. This is not the first time I have raised the closure of the CM Offray Ribbon plant in Roscrea in the Seanad. I find it necessary to raise it on this occasion because despite it being six months since the plant closed, the issue of a second redundancy payment to the workers is still outstanding.
It is unusual in the era of the Celtic tiger and extraordinary growth in the number of jobs that one should hear about a factory closure, but the Minister of State will be aware that such closures are taking place although, happily, there are far fewer than in the past.
The CM Offray Ribbon factory, a subsidiary of an American company, had been operating in Roscrea for 21 years and it was a well respected and popular employer. Having left school in Roscrea a little more than 21 years ago, I am well acquainted with a substantial number of the workforce, especially because the majority of them were women.
When the factory closed – it was an orderly wind down and took place over a number of weeks – the issue of redundancy came up for discussion. At that time the amount of the redundancy payment the workers could expect was indicated and it was also indicated that it would be made in two payments, the first of which was paid a number of weeks after the factory closed. The second redundancy payment soon became fairly controversial as it seemed to disappear into thin air, so to speak. Following the factory closure, ministerial and union representations to the parent company in America revealed that the second redundancy payment would be made, but it soon became clear that payment would be contingent on the sale of the Roscrea plant.
My investigations have revealed that this decision would lie largely in the hands of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. As the summer months passed and we moved into autumn, this issue seemed clouded in a haze of uncertainty. As of 1 December there is still a lack of clarity about whether the plant will be closed and whether the workers will get the second redundancy payment.
It is against that background of uncertainty that I raise this matter. I ask the Minister of State to clarify on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether it is its intention to make money available from its budget to buy the plant or, if not, who will buy it? Who will own it? Who will be responsible for attracting a replacement industry to locate at this site?
Despite a task force of sorts being established following the plant closure – a number of agencies were involved in that, including Shannon Development, FÁS, IDA and the county council – there is no sign of a replacement industry locating in the town. While that might not appear to be a serious matter in the current economic climate, the majority of the workers are female in their late 30s or early 40s, many with children, and they have not been mobile in terms of job seeking. While a small number of them have got work in Roscrea, the majority of the mainly female workforce are out of work. From the best of my knowledge, the men who worked in Offray have not found it difficult to get employment because of the buoyant state of the economy in the region.
As the Minister of State will appreciate, this issue is pertinent, especially as we approach Christmas. I get many queries about it. It is one that has left a bad taste in the mouths of the workers who have given almost all of their working lives to the plant and they have a sense of negativity about its closure. The uncertainty and lack of information forthcoming on this issue has only added to that. I would be grateful if the Minister of State clarified whether the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is taking responsibility for this issue. If the money is forthcoming from the Department, who will take ownership of the plant and what is likely to happen to it in the future?
