I wish to raise on the Adjournment the closure of Stonearch Limited, Abbeyleix, County Laois. Employees were informed at approximately this time yesterday that their jobs were to be discontinued. Approximately 40 employees have worked in the company and my sympathy is with them and their families at this time. A number of employees were informed that they will leave the workforce next week and the following the week, and there will be a scaled closure of the plant, culminating in all employees being finished in the factory before the end of January 2002.
Stonearch Limited which has been in Abbeyleix for more than 30 years was a good employer. It is involved in making vitamin K for animal feedstuff and it was assisted by the IDA many years ago. It is understood that the American parent company, which is quite small, has had a lot of trading difficulties, of which the plant in Abbeyleix is the main part of the group. People have recently seen the writing on the wall to some extent. From that point of view, I share the sadness of the people of Abbeyleix at the loss of their jobs in the run-up to Christmas. The fact that it was on the cards did not make it easier when people were told the bad news yesterday.
I am raising the issue in the Dáil to try to ensure that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment will instruct Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to contact directly the owners of the company to ensure there is a fair and substantial redundancy package offered to all employees who are losing their jobs. It was suggested to me that they will only be entitled to statutory redundancy but that should not be the case. The property in Abbeyleix is a very attractive building which includes a large area of land. As Members will be aware, Abbeyleix is on the main Dublin to Cork road, the N8, and the site is of particular attraction from that point of view.
Over the years the workforce has been very loyal and it was a major source of disappointment when they were told yesterday evening that the factory was to close. I believe there is an acceptance of the inevitable that the factory will close. I do not believe there is any possibility of the operation being salvaged. I understand the IDA made contact with the company in recent weeks but found that it had no alternative at this time. When it comes to County Laois it is well documented that the IDA is an absolute, complete and abysmal failure. It has failed the people of County Laois for the last 30 years and has produced very few jobs. Tremendous work in locating jobs in the county has been done at local level through the enterprise board, Enterprise Ireland, Leader, local initiatives and various Government agencies such as the prison services and Departments.
I appeal to Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to try to find a suitable company that will come to Abbeyleix, buy the premises and open a new business as soon as possible. We have a good, loyal workforce and a good tradition. Abbeyleix is a fine heritage town, an excellent area to do business in and an attractive area to live in. The town needs replacement jobs. County Laois is in the BMW region and is the closest county to Dublin of that region. Attractive IDA grants can be availed of by any foreign company that comes into the area.
The jobs task force set up after the job losses in County Laois two years ago when Avon Arlington closed in Portlaoise is now one of 22 such task forces around the country. It has achieved nothing. Many of the other 22 task forces have achieved precisely the same. There is no value in having 22 such task forces competing with each other. I ask the Minister to reassess those immediately as I have seen no concrete evidence of good work being done. I hope replacement jobs for the employees at Stonearch who are losing their jobs in the mouth of Christmas can be found as soon as possible.
