It's Curtains for Tuam in Shock Report

The Connacht Tribune, May 27, 1983.

By John Cunningham.

A special progress report on rationalisation of Irish Sugar has been completed by the company management — and it was learned this week that it plans for a three—factory system, with Tuam to close down.

But community and workers' leaders in Tuam this week said they were not shocked by Sugar Company thinking and they were determined to fight to keep Tuam open and insist the Government make a political decision.

The report was ordered by the Government in February with a May 31 deadline, and though it has not yet been presented to Directors, it is understood that drafting work has finished and the report is ready.

The Connacht Tribune learned this week that the report envisages Irish Sugar as a three—factory industry from now on, the plants at Mallow, Carlow and Thurles continuing in operation and Tuam going to the wall.

A major battle is going on in Tuam to save the 40 years old plant with its 230 full—time and 200 part—time jobs, but it is understood that the report on rationalisation progress based on commerical criteria, as ordered by the Government last February, makes no provision for Tuam to continue.

The plan which deals in great detail with the whole sugar industry sees no future for Tuam in sugar beet processing and it is believed that a lot of its thinking is based on the fact that in 1981 a decision was made to close Tuam which — though it was subsequently revoked by the Fianna Fail Government in 1982 — is now inescapable under the "commerical criteria" guidelines from the present Government.

This interpretation is backed by reported remarks yesterday of Sugar Company Chief Executive, Mr. Maurice Sheehy who said: " The shareholder (The Government) has requested a presentation from the company purely on commerical criteria and it is the job of management to advise the board against the brief.

"The management is going to advise the board in a purely professional and technically honest way — we have stated over the years that Tuam is a cost penalty on the sugar industry. That is the way today, and that is the way that I foresee it in the future. My professional judgment is that Tuam is not a viable entity now, hasn't been in the past and won't be in the future," he added.

Details of the report are being kept 'under wraps' until the Board of Directors meet to discuss it, when Tuam is likely to become a major issue, — and there were allegations this week from workers' representatives in Tuam that the Board meeting last Tuesday was deferred because the 'close Tuam' line might not have had a majority backing from directors.

The workers say that they are assured of the backing of four Worker Directors and Mr. Ruairi Roberts of the I.C.T.U. and Tuam Director, Mr. Brendan Gilligan, for keeping the Tuam plant open. That would have created an embarrassing situation if the under—strength Board had met with only ten members instead of twelve with a majority in favour of keeping Tuam open.

Irish Sugar has said that the reason the Board did not meet as planned on Tuesday was because it was felt to be wrong to make a decision on a major restructuring of Irish Sugar without a full Board and without briefing fully the new Directors — they will be appointed by the Government.

Meanwhile, the battle to save Tuam is going on. Workers have received the backing of local organisations and the Archbishop of Tuam and many western Dail Deputies and on Monday next Fianna Fail Shadow Agricultural spokesman, Mr. Michael Noonan will meet the workers during a tour of the constituency.

"During the visit to Tuam, Mr. Noonan will tour the plant and he will hold a lengthy session with the workers in the plant, as well as meeting farmers' representatives later in the Town where, I am sure, many problems as well as Tuam, will be discussed at some length," said East Galway Deputy Mr. Noel Treacy.

Workers leaders said this week they were not shocked by the Irish Sugar report, but they disputed Mr. Sheehy's figures of Tuam's losses at £2.5 million; it was £1.4 million and could be reduced to £500,000 with a limited proper investment capital.

In a statement issued on Tuesday the Tuam Chamber of Commerce came out strongly in support of recent statements made by the Archbishop of Tuam, by the I.F.A. and by the Tuam Sugar Factory Workers Action Committee regarding the situation in the Tuam Sugar Factory.

The Chamber of Commerce represents up to 150 commerical and industrial enterprises in the area.

Said the statement: "The Chamber abhors the persistent anti—Western bias of Comhlucht Suicre Eireann Teo., as evidenced by the closure of the Erin Foods Plant and the Gowla grass meal plant at Ballyforan. It fully supports the statement by the Minister of State, Mr. Paul Connaughton, in questioning the competence of the management of the Sugar Company.

"The Chamber supports him in the light of the immense improvement in the productivity of the Tuam Plant and the huge growth in the acreage experienced in the West of Ireland. We are also painfully aware of the lack of investment in the Tuam Plant. Regrettably the Tuam plant is the whipping boy for the huge loss incurred by C.S.E.T. of £222 millions. The Tuam plant actually lost £1.4 million in 1982 — who lost the other £20.6 millions? The Chamber remembers with regret the closure of the Limerick—Sligo railway line — the closure was to stop the escalating C.I.E. loss which was then £35 millions. Need the Chamber point out that the current C.I.E. loss in on the £100 millions mark.

"Should the C.S.E.T. close the Tuam plant the loss of 350 workers will be compounded by the further loss of 120/130 jobs in downstream industrial and commerical enterprises.

"The Chamber noted recently when Telectron closed its plant in Dublin the Ministerial activities that followed to protect the jobs and rightly so. The Chamber merely expect that where an equal number of jobs are at risk that the same efforts will be forthcoming.

The Tuam Chamber of Commerce passionately believes in the self help concept, it has witnessed the effort made in the last two years to improve acreage (1981 — 4,600 acres) and (1983 — 8,500 acres) and the Chamber has witnessed the improvement in productivity with ninety workers less and with a 3 percent increase in costs with inflation at 15 per cent. Minor investments with goodwill from the company will ensure that the West of Ireland will continue to make a useful contribution to the national economy.

"The Chamber is aware that the final decision is a political one and call on the Government to support the Junior Minister Paul Connaughton thereby disproving the general perception that the West of Ireland is merely a reservation for tourists."

Galway County Council on the proposal of Senator Mark Killilea, has fully backed the struggle to keep Tuam open.

Roscommon County Committee of Agriculture at their monthly meeting last week backed the campaign for the retention of Tuam Sugar Beet factory on the basis of the support which the 'grow more beet campaign' had received from Western farmers over the past two years.

Proposing they support the campaign, Councilor Michael Finneran said that farmers in the province, including Roscommon, had produced the goods as far as Tuam was concerned. They were prepared to produce 8,000 acres of beet annually which showed goodwill and a business approach on their part, and was done out of genuine concern for the Tuam factory.