Mallow sugar factory officially closeed its doors for the last time today amid acrimony over the failure to convert the facility into a biofuels plant and redundancy payments.
The last shift in the 80-year history of Irish sugar production was due to at 3 o'clock but workers left early to avoid the media gathered outside the plant to mark an historic day - the demise of an industry which once boasted four plants.
MEP Kathy Sinnott
Independent Munster MEP Kathy Sinnott said the Government and the plant's owners, Greencore, should have acted on a suggestion by the European Commission official in charge of restructuring the sugar industry in reconditioning the plant for bio ethanol production.
She said Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, of the EU Agriculture Commissioner had told her the Commission backed the move to convert sugar factories to bio ethanol production and that he suggested this course of action when he visited the plant.
Ms Sinnott said that when Mr Borchardt made this suggestion there was "little interest".
With dwindling oil supplies leading to the acceptance that ethanol should be mixed with conventional fuels, Ms Sinnott sounded a positive note.
"The closure needn't have happened and can still be of short duration. If the priorities of the times have closed the factory then the priorities of the time can open it and bring it to new undreamt of levels of productivity," she said.
The Green Party, which also want the plant converted for the production bio ethanol, said Greencore were "walking away with millions from the closure of the Mallow sugar factory".
Energy spokesman Eamon Ryan said the Government should "play hardball" with Greencore by insisting the plant is converted to ethanol production before sanctioning the €145 million EU compensation package it is due to receive.
If the company was unwilling, then the State should have bought the factory at a knock-down price as a condition of sanctioning the payment, Mr Ryan said.
"Rather than walking away from our best chance to set up a substantial Irish biofuel industry, the Government should go to Brussels even at this late hour with a plan to convert one of the plants in Carlow [which closed last year] and Mallow," Mr Ryan said.
He noted Finland and Germany had received European support in recommissioning sugar plants for ethanol production.
"The plant in Mallow is ideally suited as such a production facility and its conversion to that role would guarantee hundreds of jobs both at the site and on Irish farms and also cut our imported fossil fuel bills and global greenhouse gas emissions which are starting to cost the Irish taxpayer millions," Mr Ryan said.
Some 324 jobs have been lost at the plant which was supplied by 3,700 beet growing farmers but it is estimated that a total of 5,000 jobs in connected businesses will be affected. The economy will be also be hit to the tune €100 million, according to estimates.
Concern also emerged today about the redundancy package for those who lost their job at Irish Sugar. The TEEU said some of those leaving work for the last time today were due to receive statutory redundancy.
The union's regional secretary Paul Guilfoyle said the affected workers would tuern up for work next week if the matter is not resolved.
The company denied the claim but a short joint statement from the Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan and the Minster Enterprise Micheal Martin, said it was "extraordinary that Greencore seems to be stalling on the implementation of the Labour Court recommendation".