Fishery job losses 'a major blow'

Forty job losses at a prawn processing plant in Wexford are a major blow for the region’s maritime industry, the Labour Party Deputy for Wexford said today.

The redundancies at Wrights of Howth Exports, on Kilmore Quay, were a major surprise, said Brendan Howlin.

Offering his sympathies to staff, he said news of the job losses have come at a time when the area is already reeling from a series of setbacks to the fishing industry,

He said: “This company was well-established and had been, apparently, operating successfully up until today’s announcement. However, competition from cheaper processing methods overseas seem to have impacted severely on the plant.

“At a time when the entire industry in Wexford is already reeling from the reductions in the scallop catch, this is the last thing those whose livelihoods depend on fishing-related activities needed.

“With the industry in slow decline around the country, it is to be hoped that this announcement is not the beginning of the steady erosion of the marine industry in Wexford.”

Deputy Howlin called for Wexford’s Fisheries Minister John Browne to speak out on the Kilmore Quay losses and the survival of the fishing industry in the area.