Vol. 285 No. 6
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the action, if any, he proposes to take to safeguard employment in the Clare creameries having regard to assurances which were given before the disposal of these creameries by the Dairy Disposal Company that employment would be guaranteed.
32.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware of the concern of employees of creameries in County Clare (names supplied) regarding proposed redundancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 32 together.
I am aware that announcements have been made to the effect that redundancies will arise in the area mentioned by the Deputy. The agreement concluded with the purchasers of properties previously owned by the Dairy Disposal Company provided for the employment of workers on terms no less favourable than obtained at the time of purchase and subject to the condition that employment would not be terminated save on proper cause. While I regret that redundancies have arisen from the purchasers' scheme of rationalisation of their over-all operations I would expect that the reorganisation will ensure the continued employment of the remaining 1,200 employees.
Could the Minister say if it is correct that the decision was made by the previous Government to locate this project in Cratloe, that machinery was purchased and had arrived in this country and that the decision was then reversed by him and his colleagues in Government? One of the consequences of that reversal is that the machinery is still lying there unused and another is that these redundancies are now taking place.
What the Deputy has said is partly correct. There was a previous decision to set up a plant at Cratloe and a site was purchased for that purpose. There was very considerable disagreement on this and where the supplies would come from for it. I had numerous meetings in the Department with the suppliers from Clare and Limerick. In fact, I had a number of meetings at which public representatives from all parties were present. My only concern was that the decision the producers wanted was eventually arrived at. It was their decision that the right thing to do was to sell the properties of the Dairy Disposal Company in Clare and Limerick to Golden Vale who purchased them on the assumption of getting a certain supply of milk. Since that time they have lost 18 million gallons of their normal supplies which have by-passed Golden Vale plants. In these circumstances it was extremely difficult for them to maintain the same level of employment.
As we have seen quite recently in the papers and through other channels it was necessary for them to make the sort of rationalisation they have set out on. A number of the people employed have accepted conditions for retirement and have not seriously objected to them. I do not think anybody wants to see people become redundant but in the case of this society it was felt, if they were to remain in existence, that this was the only thing that could give them continued viability, that these reductions had to take place more especially when the milk was diverted elsewhere. This is happening in a year when milk production has already gone up 8.4 per cent.
Was this possibility not envisaged by some people at least at the time of the decision to locate at Cratloe?
No. Cratloe would not have made the slightest difference. It could have made no difference whatever in deciding to set up an unwanted plant. No extra plant was necessary because there was not enough milk for it. Incidentally, we have sold some of the equipment since and hope to sell the remainder of it.
Question No. 33.
It means now that these people are becoming redundant because of that decision.
This is not so because no Deputy objected to the producers making the decision.
The decision had already been made as the Minister agreed.
