Statement by Mary White

The Green Party today called on the Government to redevelop the Mallow sugar beet factory into a state of the art bio-fuel processing plant. The call comes following an announcement this afternoon that the Greencore plant is to close in May with the loss of 330 jobs.

Green Party Deputy Leader Councillor Mary White said, “There is a golden opportunity to turn this factory into a state of the art bio-fuel plant, saving Cork jobs and generating huge employment within the local farming and business sectors. If this stance is adopted it will make the production of ethanol economically viable and will turn Cork into a giant of the renewable energy sector.

“Converting the sugar factory to a bio-fuel plant is a win-win situation. Cork has a skilled work force and it has a land bank needed to grow the fuel of the future. The bio-fuel refinery would support local industry and create sustainable jobs while also helping to cut Ireland’s carbon emissions.

“This is the way forward for Irish agriculture. In 2003 the European Council and European Parliament agreed the Biofuels Directive, yet so far the Government has made no real attempt to meet Ireland’s mandatory bio-fuel targets. These targets have been set at 2 per cent of all transport fuel needs by 2005 and 5.75 per cent by 2010.

“It is only the Government’s lack of support and initiative which is stopping development of this sector and which is preventing Ireland from playing a leading role in this cutting edge technology,” concluded Councillor White.

Filed under: Mary White TD