It gives me no joy to say that it is necessary to raise this issue in the Dáil this evening. Unfortunately, circumstances are such that we in Clonmel and in the surrounding area have no option but to bring this very important issue to the attention of the Minister. The failure of the Industrial Development Authority and the Department of Industry and Commerce to find a replacement industry for the Digital plant in Clonmel is the source of extreme alarm and concern among the 80 remaining employees in the company and for everyone in the area who is concerned about the commercial and social life of the town and surrounding area.
I urge the Minister this evening to give Clonmel top priority. This matter must be addressed urgently and with determination. Those of us who live in the locality — I want the Minister to know this — feel that sufficient priority has not been attached to the need to attract a replacement industry to Clonmel. I regret that it is necessary for me to intervene at this stage, but it is both necessary and vital that the urgent need to find a replacement industry be highlighted now.
The announcement of 22 February 1991 that the Digital plant in Clonmel was facing closure, resulting in the loss of 350 jobs, was a massive blow to the town. The shock was, however, eased somewhat when the company gave a commitment to defer total closure until July 1992 to allow all concerned to find a replacement industry for the plant. A year has now almost passed and the remaining 80 workers face unemployment on 1 July.
The recession forced upon the town of Clonmel by the closure of Digital, on its commercial and social life, has been devastating and with no positive news as yet of a replacement industry we are very apprehensive and the future is looking very bleak. The plant was visited by representatives of Cabletron which eventually was located in Limerick, and by Wyeths which was eventually located in Newbridge. Surely this begs the question of what priority has been attached to Clonmel and how vital to the Minister is the fate of its employees and future employment in the town.
Clonmel has lost over 700 industrial jobs during the past three years — 200 jobs at Barlo Heating, 116 at Burke's Bacon and 350 at Digital, while almost 100 jobs have been lost in firms which service those companies. The myth that Clonmel, is doing well commercially and industrially is blatantly disproved by the facts I put before the House this evening. I wish to impress upon the Minister that we are facing a serious deadline and that at this stage a replacement industry is a chronic necessity. With unemployment in the town running at 28 per cent we can wait no longer. Because of this we have got to be aggressive with our demands.
I appeal to the Minister to use all the means at his disposal immediately, to secure a replacement industry for Clonmel before the dreaded date of 1 July. I take hope in the fact that the Minister here this evening is my namesake. I hope that he will make the town of Clonmel his first priority and find a replacement industry for Digital.
