Carlow sugar deal sought

ONE of Ireland’s EU sugar negotiation targets must be to secure a proposed restructuring payment for the Greencore factory at Carlow, according to MEP Simon Coveney.

He told committed beet growers in Cork last week that Greencore’s Carlow plant closed too early to qualify for the €730 per tonne of sugar offered by the EU to encourage closure of factories and renunciation of quota, and cope with the social and environmental impact of restructuring.

Full payment is not proposed for factories which closed before June 1, said Mr Coveney.