Cork town ‘abandoned’ as last factory shuts doors

THE Government has been accused of abandoning a once thriving manufacturing town which lost its last major factory yesterday.

The closure of Tytex in Youghal, East Cork, brought to 2,500 the number of manufacturing jobs lost to the historic walled town over the last decade.

Danish-owned Tytex, which developed and made medical textile products at the Springfield Industrial Estate for almost quarter of a century, announced its closure last November citing high production costs, and said it was moving production to eastern Europe and the Far East.

From a peak employment of 150, it ceased production last Friday. Just 37 workers left the factory for the last time just after 11am yesterday.

Fine Gael TD David Stanton said its closure has devastated the town.

“The whole town has been completed abandoned over the last 10 years. Every large industry has closed,” he said.

And he accused the Government of doing little over the years to halt the decline.

“I have tried on several occasions to get ministers involved. But nothing happened,” he said.

“We got a new second-level school and pool. That’s about it. Most people from Youghal are now working outside the town.”

The Tytex closure is the last in a long list of large-scale factory closures which have decimated the town’s manufacturing base, including:

- The closure in 2007 of the French-owned office supplies manufacturer Elba with the loss of 55 jobs

- The closure in 2006 of long-established local employer, US-owned Couristan Carpets, with the loss of 92 jobs.

- The closure in 2003 of Technicolour Home Entertainment, formerly Eastman Kodak, with the loss of 200 jobs.

- The closure in 2002 of Artesyn Technologies, with the loss of 160 jobs.

Youghal Carpets, Seafield Fabrics, Blackwater Cottons, and Bryant Rubbers have also closed in recent years.

The former Tytex workers said they have no hope of finding any other manufacturing work.

“This was the last factory in the town,” said Liam McLellan, a SIPTU shop steward, who worked at Tytex for 14 years.

“I have nothing lined up. There is absolutely nothing in the town. There are a lot of jobs on the minimum wage but there is no likelihood of anything in the manufacturing sector coming.”

He said the company did everything possible to help its employees, including organising briefings with Fás, Social Welfare officers and pension experts. But he said the silence from Government parties was deafening.

“If there was an extension opening here, they’d all be around. There was no one around this morning,” he said.

“The only TD that contacted staff at the factory was David Stanton. One job lost in Youghal is the same as a job lost anywhere.

“When the job losses in Dell were announced, they got EU funding.

“But there has been between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs lost in Youghal in the last 10 years. We need the big political noises to make noise and it’s not happening.”

But a spokesman for Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the Government is focused on a “whole of enterprise” strategy.

“That means we are putting record levels of investment into our enterprise agencies to meet ambitious job creation targets; we are fixing the banking system; we are restoring order to the public finances; we are regaining our competitiveness; and we are getting credit flowing to small businesses,” he said.

“All of these measures are aimed at creating a business environment conducive to the creation of jobs.”

He said Irish-based enterprises must continue the progression to high value-added sectors and activities, and increase productivity through investment in human capital, technology and innovation.

“While there is no doubt that the recession has taken its toll on communities across the country and many businesses have been shuttered, we must also recall that our economy is recovering and the country must have confidence in our ability to grow again,” he said.

“Businesses are closing but equally over 10,480 new firms have been incorporated so far this year.”

But Mr Stanton said there must be a concerted effort from Government to help the town identify its strengths, especially around tourism.

Local Cllr Sandra McLellan said it is very sad to see the town’s last factory close. “They have all closed one by one. It makes you wonder what’s going to happen next, where are our children going to find work?

“I hope that Youghal will be a priority in Brian Cowen’s plan to create 300,000 jobs,” she said.

Picture: Some of the workers at Tytex Ireland, who have lost their jobs at the plant in Youghal, at a staff gathering at the Quays Bar in the town yesterday evening.