Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Feb 2018

Vol. 256 No. 2

Job Losses at Kerry Foods, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan: Statements

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Heather Humphreys)

I am disappointed by the announced redundancies at Rye Valley. Although the country as a whole is moving towards full employment, that does not make it easier for any person faced with redundancy. It also underlines that although the economy is performing well overall, there are challenges that require every company to make sure it is competitive and capable of satisfying the needs of its customers.

Kerry Group is Ireland’s largest food company and a world leader in ingredients and flavour technologies. It has 132 manufacturing facilities across five continents and provides food and ingredient products to a wide customer base in 140 countries. With its headquarters in Tralee, the Group employs over 23,000 people worldwide. It operates two consumer food production facilities in Ireland, one of which is Rye Valley in Carrickmacross. Rye Valley is a major employer in the north east region. The facility at Carrickmacross currently employs 420 people and most of its sales are to the UK.

According to the company, the objective of the announcement is to improve the overall competitiveness of the site and to future proof it such that it can continue to operate effectively in Monaghan. The company envisages that after this process the site will be better prepared to continue to supply and sustain its commercial opportunities in the marketplace, where it currently has a strong position. The ongoing formal consultation process began a month ago. The company envisages that the redundancies will be achieved on a voluntary basis. I strongly urge the parties to continue their extensive engagement locally with a view to reaching a resolution to the satisfaction of employees and the company. I will work with my colleague, the Minister for Employment and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to ensure that redundant workers are given the support they need to find alternative employment. I hope that having worked for the Kerry Group, which places emphasis on the professional development of its employees, they can quickly find alternative employment in the region.

My objective as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and as a local representative is to ensure that new job opportunities are created in the local area. As I said, the national economic picture is strong and, in fact, the number on the live register in Monaghan is down by 53% since 2012. However, I am very conscious that more needs to be done. One of the first things I did following my appointment as Minister was to meet with the CEOs from counties Monaghan, Cavan, Louth and Meath along with senior officials from Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and my Department to discuss how we can drive job creation in the region. I will be working with my Department and agencies to ensure there is an even greater focus on the Border and, in particular, on counties such as Monaghan and Cavan.

The north east-north west regional action plan for jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the region. The core objective of the plan is to have a further 28,000 people at work in the region by 2020. Sectors targeted as part of the Border plan include traditionally strong sectors for the region such as agrifood, manufacturing, engineering and tourism. Importantly, the plan has been embraced by public and private sector bodies in the region and over 90% of its actions are on track for delivery. In terms of impact, over 12,000 more people are in employment in the Border region since the plan commenced.

At agency level, Enterprise Ireland recently announced a 4% employment growth in its client companies for the Border region, which now employ almost 11,500 people. Knowing the considerable challenges that companies in the region are facing, Enterprise Ireland continues to engage on a one-to-one basis with established clients in County Monaghan. Across the period 2014-17, it has invested approximately €18 million in client companies in the county. Through partnership between Enterprise Ireland and local authorities, local enterprise offices supported 1,152 small and micro-businesses employing over 5,720 people in the Border region during 2016.

To keep this momentum going, in December last year I announced an allocation of €30.5 million in funding to support enterprise capability in the regions, with 21 projects from all over the country receiving funding. Three projects from the Border region were successful: a regional food centre of excellence at Ballybay in County Monaghan, a network of three digital and innovation hubs, including one in County Cavan, and a new digital innovation hub and enterprise capacity building programme in County Donegal. In order to pursue this policy of growing new and exciting businesses across the regions, I look forward to launching a second call under the regional enterprise development fund in late March to allocate the balance of the €60 million earmarked for the scheme. If quality applications come in from the Border region for that scheme, they will be supported.

The period ahead will be a very challenging one for the employees who may lose their jobs. As I have outlined, all State relevant supports will be made available to them. The best response is to continue to invest in programmes and policies that generate new jobs and to assist those seeking work to be able to take up the available opportunities.

Senator Robbie Gallagher

I extend a very warm welcome to the Minister and thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to come to the Chamber. I have no doubt that she is extremely disappointed to learn of the 31 proposed job losses at Kerry Foods in Carrickmacross, as am I. Our thoughts are with the workers and families affected. It must be a very difficult, worrying and stressful time for them as I am sure they all have financial commitments to which they must adhere. The Minister will agree that it is a huge blow for the town of Carrickmacross, in particular in light of the 150 job losses at the Bose factory in 2015.

Kerry Foods has cited the volatility of sterling as a result of Brexit as one of the main reasons for the proposed job losses. This is a very alarming development in view of the dependence on the agrifood sector in County Monaghan, of which the Minister is aware. We have a huge number of jobs in that sector and it is of critical importance to the area. All Senators have been warning for some time about the threat posed by Brexit and, unfortunately, the events of recent days once again highlight how real that threat is to the 31 workers faced with redundancy and the people of Carrickmacross. It is important that the Government stays close to major employers in County Monaghan, in particular those involved in the food sector, who are acutely at risk because much of their produce goes to the United Kingdom.

We need to help them by making sure they get all the help possible to navigate their way through this difficult period and to find new markets, where possible. I am disappointed to have to say that the Government's record of attracting new employment to counties like Monaghan and Cavan is dismal. Earlier this week, I received the most recent IDA Ireland statistics regarding visits to both counties. I learned that in 2017, there was one visit to County Monaghan and there were two visits to County Cavan. In the last six years, there have been seven visits to County Monaghan and ten to County Cavan. I am sure the Minister will agree that none of us can be proud of this dismal record. I have been saying for some time that no part of our country is more exposed to Brexit than the Border counties. I am sure the Minister agrees with this. I call on the Government to create a special economic zone in the Border region because such an initiative is much needed.

There is no reason large companies cannot locate and flourish in counties like Monaghan and Cavan. A number of companies are already located in both counties. As the Minister is well aware, Monaghan Mushrooms is the largest exporter of mushrooms in Europe and the second largest in the world. Another company, Combilift, exports its products all over the world. Our deep exposure to Brexit is a cause of great concern. The Government needs to stay awake. We need to stay close to our existing employers to ensure they can navigate their way through these turbulent times. We must also focus on finding alternative employment. I am concerned that County Monaghan is over-exposed to the agrifood sector. I am heartened by the fact that the Minister, who is new to this portfolio, is a Monaghan lady born and bred. I get great confidence from that. I wish her well in her new post as she tries to convince her Government colleagues that the Border counties have a special case that deserves to be listened to. I hope our day will come very shortly.

Senator Joe O'Reilly

I join other Senators in welcoming my constituency colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. We are happy to have her participate in this important debate. At present, 420 people are employed in Rye Valley. Most of the company's sales are in the UK. I am keen to put the level of employment in perspective. Of course it is always regrettable to hear about job losses. Our hearts go out to those affected. We stress the urgency of rectifying this situation. It is important to note that the 31 redundancies will take place on a voluntary basis and are not forced redundancies. We are not happy about the redundancies, but it is better that voluntary redundancy is being offered to people who might wish to retire for various reasons. Of course this is not what we want. I gather that the redundancies are needed to improve competitiveness.

Kerry Group is renowned for investment in, and the professional development of, its workforce. This means when these redundancies arise, this well-trained and skilled group of 31 people will be well placed to gain other forms of employment. I consider it important that any upskilling sought by these people should be available to them. All of the agencies, including the local education and training board, should be brought together to ensure any training needed by those who take voluntary redundancy to help them to get other employment is available to them. I urge the Minister to ensure all the agencies are there to help. I was impressed to hear her say she will be in contact with the Minister for Employment and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to ensure active and personalised one-to-one support is available. I know such support has been available in the past in these kinds of situations. It is important that everyone is treated as an individual and met and dealt with personally.

If it is possible, even at this stage, for the jobs to be saved through negotiations, I urge all parties to engage. If there is any possibility to change work practices within the enterprise, for example, we appeal to those involved to facilitate this. If alternative employment can be secured, that is the ideal to which we would aspire. The north-west and north-east regional action plan for jobs, which includes a number of practical actions, is the key policy response on jobs in the Border region. The core objective of the plan is to have a further 28,000 people at work in the region by 2020. It places an emphasis on agrifood, manufacturing, engineering and tourism. The number of people in employment in the Border region increased by 12,000 between the first quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2017. Obviously, we want the Government to target its efforts in the Border region and we are delighted that we now have a Minister from the region to do that. The great news that 12,000 additional people are working in the Border region belies the notion that job creation is not spread across the regions.

In December of last year, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation announced an allocation of €305 million for a number of initiatives, including a digital hub in Cavan and a food excellence and innovation centre in Monaghan. I congratulate the Minister on these great initiatives, which we welcome. We hope they will contribute to a solution to this difficulty. It is important to note that there has been a 4% increase in the number of IDA Ireland-backed jobs in this area. Some 12,500 people in the Border region are employed in companies that are supported by IDA Ireland. The local enterprise offices support 1,152 small businesses and microbusinesses, which employed more than 5,220 people in the Border region in 2016. Between 2014 and 2017, Enterprise Ireland invested up to €80 million in client companies in support of enterprise capacity in the region. It is very important that this is the case. Again, there has been a 4% increase in jobs in the region.

I agree with my colleague, Senator Gallagher, that the matter of Rye Valley needs to be addressed and that the social protection aspects of this issue, such as the retraining of employees, need to be emphasised. We need to ascertain whether there is any potential for the situation to be resolved onsite and inhouse, for example through discussions between all the agencies, the unions, management and workers. If such potential exists, of course that is an optimum thing. We need to continue to focus on job creation. A great deal has already been achieved. There is a spread of jobs in the region. I am very happy with many of the announcements that have been made. We want to achieve more. We are very optimistic for the future of counties Cavan and Monaghan.

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Heather Humphreys)

I thank Senators O'Reilly and Gallagher for their contributions. I know the coming period is going to be difficult for the local workers at Rye Valley. As I have said, I will work to ensure all the supports of the State are made available to the workers affected by this. The best response is to continue to invest in programmes and policies that generate new jobs and to help those who are seeking work to be able to take up the available opportunities. There is no doubt that these policies are working. In 2012, there were 6,620 people on the live register in County Monaghan. Today, that figure has decreased by 53% to 3,105, which is a remarkable turnaround by any stretch.

I take the point made by Senators that the number of IDA site visits to counties Cavan and Monaghan are too low. That is not a new problem but it is certainly one that I am determined to address. I know both Senators will support me in every way they can to address it.

Under this Government, the IDA has a strong commitment to increase foreign direct investment in each region by 30% to 40% including, of course, the Border region. In fairness to the IDA, it does absolutely fantastic work on a global basis in attracting investment to Ireland. I was at an event yesterday where 550 jobs were announced in two different locations by cutting edge international companies. The IDA does great work in attracting them into this country and while it will make every effort to show them the facilities outside of the city, they want to come to Dublin. To be honest, I would rather see them coming here than not coming at all. We need to say that very clearly. All foreign direct investment is very welcome and this is a wonderful country in which to do business. The chief executive of one of the companies said to me that the reason they are coming to this country is because of the highly-skilled workforce and the growing economy. They want to be part of the success of this economy. The company was emphatic about that.

Enterprise Ireland also had a record year in 2017. Enterprise Ireland supported companies employ 209,000 people and IDA client companies employ 210,000 people. Almost half of the new jobs created by IDA last year were outside Dublin. Some 64% of the new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland were outside Dublin. We are moving in the right direction. The latest figures from the CSO show that there are an extra 48,100 people at work in comparison to this time last year, with nine out of every ten new jobs being created outside Dublin. It is clear that a lot of good work is going on and that we are heading in the right direction.

I make no apology for standing here when we are speaking about a company in Monaghan and saying that I will have a strong focus on the Border region. I will be treating it as an area that deserves special attention through the different initiatives, the regional plans and the regional development fund. As I have said, one of my first acts as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation was to arrange a meeting with the four local authorities, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath and senior officials from Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and my own Department to discuss how we can drive job creation in the region and also to discuss how we can work on a collaborative basis. The food, mushroom, pig and engineering industries are all very strong in our area. It is a question of how we can support existing businesses and encourage new start-ups. The foreign direct investors are also looking for clusters and we have to show them the strength of what we have and that we have something special. I know we have that in counties Cavan and Monaghan, indeed right across the Border region. I am committed to that goal.

I have only been in the Department two months. Things take time, but I will be working towards that goal. My door will be open to anyone who wants to assist in driving that agenda. I understand that Brexit will present challenges but it will also present opportunities. I want to use this opportunity to say to our indigenous industries that they should get in touch with the local enterprise office and Enterprise Ireland. There are many supports out there to help them prepare for the risks that Brexit will present. They must identify the risks in their companies, mitigate for the risks by diversifying the markets and investing in research, development and innovation. One thing that has been found is that companies that invested in innovation during the difficult years of the downturn were the ones most likely to survive. Companies need to be Brexit ready and ensure they remain competitive. There are supports out there and I ask them to please use every opportunity to avail of the services that Enterprise Ireland in particular and the local enterprise offices have put in place.

I thank the Senators for raising this matter.

Acting Chairman (Senator Gerard P. Craughwell)

I thank the Minister for that response. I wish her well in her portfolio, in particular with the difficulties in her own constituency.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Senator Joe O'Reilly

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

The Seanad adjourned at 5.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 15 February 2018.