Town demands investment priority after sugar industry demise

COMMUNITY representatives from Mallow yesterday urged the Government to put the area on a priority list for foreign investment following the announcement of the town’s sugar plant closure.

The demand was made as Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan announced an expert group charged with recommending the breakdown of EU compensation to competing interests including beet growers, workers and Greencore itself.

In a Dáil meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin and Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, 16 community representatives highlighted the plight of Mallow, which has now lost 700 jobs in quick succession.

“We want to be placed on a priority list for foreign direct investment for major industry as soon as possible,” said John McDonnell of the Mallow Development Partnership afterwards.

“We expected we would have a year or two breathing space while the company would be open and we were all caught unawares when that didn’t happen so that puts more urgency into the situation,” he said.

Mallow Chamber of Commerce president Dermot Graham said the loss of an estimated €8 million annually to the local economy would greatly impact on retailers.

“The prime concern of the chamber is to get industry and jobs back into Mallow. To take on another industry as soon as possible is the key,” Mr Graham said.

Fianna Fáil’s Ned O’Keeffe, who organised yesterday’s meeting, said it was time to look to the future. “The focus has to be on what happens next. Whether it be biofuel or another industry, something has to be found,” he said.

In yesterday’s meeting the Mallow group also sought Government commitments on Mallow’s hub-town status and whether it would be included in the next phase of decentralisation.

Local Labour TD Joe Sherlock said no key questions were answered in yesterday’s meeting.

But Mallow Mayor Richard Dempsey said he was happy with the meeting.

“The Taoiseach listened to us, the two ministers listened. They said they will come back to us and I believe they will,” he said.

Separately yesterday, Fine Gael’s Communications and Natural Resources spokesman Bernard Durkan said the closure of Mallow’s sugar beet facility presented an opportunity to the Government to recognise the potential of biofuel production from sugar beet - something which the Green Party and Sinn Féin have also called for.

“Such a move would be in accord with the European Green Paper on energy production. It would have the positive effect of clarifying beet growing contracts in the current year and would have the desirable environmental impact of improving Ireland’s compliance with Kyoto principles,” he said.