IFI closure claims raise ‘serious questions’

THERE was angry reaction last night to revelations that the Government delayed its decision to shut down the stricken Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) plants until after the general election.

The Irish Examiner revealed yesterday that IFI company documents contain evidence that government officials were told a year before its closure that the plant was unsustainable. The documents go on to state that the company’s 620 jobs could not have been saved.

East Cork Fine Gael TD David Stanton said the revelations raised serious political and legal questions for the Government. Speaking in Cobh, Mr Stanton said that if the suggestion that the plants were kept open to avoid bad news in the run-up to the election was true, the Government and the Tánaiste would have to take responsibility for the substantial reduction to the pension fund and for losses to the workers and creditors.