Sugar reforms bitter pill to swallow for Mallow
But not even the sweetest of Irish produced sugar could take the sour taste from the European Commission’s sugar reform proposals in Mallow, where the country’s last remaining processing plant is located.
There was joy in the area last January when Irish Sugar announced that it was concentrating all sugar processing at the local factory, following the decision to close its Carlow plant. And there was a big welcome for the decision to upgrade the Mallow factory to world class standards at a cost of up to €25 million to enable it to process the country’s 199,260 tonne sugar quota.
But yesterday’s sugar reform proposals from the European Commission have created fears about the future of the plant where beet has been processed into sugar for the past seventy years.
They have also highlighted the precarious position of traditional industries in the face of growing competition from larger players in an increasingly globalised business world. At one time Ireland had four sugar factories in Carlow, Mallow, Thurles and Tuam.
The plants in Thurles and Tuam were closed many years ago. Until recently, Carlow and Mallow were the keystones of the €140 million sugar industry.
They employed 450 workers directly and another 200 during the annual three and a half month processing campaign. Some 240 hauliers were also engaged in transporting 1.3 million tonnes of beet worth around €80 million and grown by 3,700 farmers on 80,000 acres.
The IFA reckons that another 4,000 families depend directly or indirectly on the industry.
But a total of 187 full time and 137 part time jobs were lost as part of a rationalisation plan that involved the closure of the Carlow plant and the consolidation of all processing in Mallow.
Now, fears have arisen about the future of the Mallow plant, as Irish Sugar, which currently employs 288 people directly, is preparing for a September start to the next beet processing campaign which is being extended from 80 days to 120.
John McDonnell, chairman of the local Development Partnership, a co-ordinating body for economic, social and other interests in the area, said Mallow has been designed as a hub town and the continuation of the agri-based sector is vital in that context.
It is essential that the Sugar Company is retained in Mallow particularly with the serious decline of the dairy sector in the town.
The Sugar Company workforce in Mallow has shown itself to be highly productive and flexible and there is no doubt this can continue and ensure that the operation continues to be efficient, he added.
Mr McDonnell said the MDP will be seeking a meeting with Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan and the Enterprise and Employment Minister to emphasise how important the Sugar Company is in ensuring that Mallow and North Cork maintain jobs for its expanding population.
Labour TD Joe Sherlock, a former employee of Irish Sugar, said every effort must be made to oppose the proposals and ensure the retention of the highly efficient factory in Mallow and those employed there.
Senator Paul Bradford said he was deeply concerned at the Brussels proposals which would, unless amended, devastate the Irish sugar industry and make the growing sugar beet in Ireland a thing of the past.
“I think it is imperative that the Irish Government led by the Taoiseach begin an intensive lobbying campaign to dismantle these proposals,” he said.
Labour Party spokesperson Dr Mary Upton, TD, said sugar reform is inevitable but the proposals have serious implications for beet growers and for workers at the Irish Sugar plant in Mallow.
She said Councillor Sean Sherlock, the former Town Council chairman recently called for the establishment of a local forum involving beet growers, workers, Greencore representatives and the Mallow Development Partnership to consider the production of ethanol or other products at the Mallow plant.
“I think that this is an excellent idea that the Minister should now take on board,” she said.
