Opposition parties are to discuss in the Dáil next week the fallout from the closure in Mallow of the last sugar beet factory in the State.
The vexed question of the share-out of compensation arising from the closure remains to be resolved, Fine Gael's Denis Naughten said yesterday, adding that he would be seeking legal clarification of who exactly owns Ireland's beet quota.
This quota, which was shared among the 3,700 farmer growers, was regarded as an asset in farm accounts by the Revenue Commissioners, according to Mr Naughten.
"Now, Irish Sugar is claiming that it controls the quota and I disagree with that assessment," said Mr Naughten who is his party's spokesman on agriculture.
"I will be asking the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, to determine the exact legal status of this quota," he said.
He said that during the protracted negotiations surrounding the reform of the sugar regime in the EU, it ( the European Commission) had talked about buying the production rights, but since the agreement that phrase had not been used. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture was told on October 19th last that the Government had already sought the advice of the Attorney General and the conclusion was that no one owned the Irish sugar quota.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture had been questioned on the ownership of the quota, most believing that the quota was vested in the Minister for Agriculture who held what was known as "the golden share" in the Irish Sugar company, which was privatised in the early 1990s.
Other Opposition parties have also sought to raise the issue of the future of workers and farmers. The Green Party will be pushing for the retention of sugar beet production as an alternative fuel source.
Under the EU restructuring plan, €145 million will be made available to farmers in compensation for stopping production. Yesterday Tom Parlon, Minister of State for Finance, announced that he would be hosting an open seminar on bio-fuels and alternative crops for beet farmers.
In a statement announcing the seminar next Thursday in Portlaoise, Mr Parlon said the closure of the Mallow plant would have a very negative impact on farmers, particularly tillage farmers
"There has been much discussion of late on the feasibility of crop production for the bio-fuel industry. However, it is universally recognised that Ireland needs to find alternative forms of energy production. The question facing Irish farmers is, does crop production for the bio-fuel industry offer a real, financially viable alternative to them?" said his statement.
He said he would be chairing the seminar to address this question, and experts would attend to discuss woodchip/willow production, rapeseed oil production and other issues.