Bord na Móna staff in Longford 'feel that they're being stitched up'

Up to 70 Bord na Móna staff in Longford expressed their 'extreme anger' at the threat over their jobs last night.

They met local Oireachtas members outside their base in Mount Dillon yesterday.

The company has laid off 78 seasonal employees, and 72 permanent jobs are at risk.

It is because of the temporary closure of an ESB power plant in nearby Lanesboro, which they supply.

Roscommon-Galway TD Eugene Murphy says Bord na Móna staff are furious.

He said: "Workers are very angry. Workers are extremely annoyed. There is issues about making all of the workers redundant.

"People don't trust what is going on at the moment, between the ESB Bord na Móna and the EPA.

"Whether it's right or whether it's wrong, the workers feel that they're being stitched up and this issue, as I said, is a long way from being solved in my view."