Forty job losses at a prawn-processing plant in Wexford are a major blow for the region's maritime industry, Labour Party TD Brendan Howlin said.
Labour Party TD Brendan Howlin: '... competition from cheaper processing methods overseas seem to have impacted severely on the plant.'
The redundancies at Wrights of Howth Exports, on Kilmore Quay, were announced yesterday and were major surprise, according to Brendan Howlin.
Last night Mr Howlin said: "This company was well-established and had been, apparently, operating successfully up until today's [Monday] announcement. However, competition from cheaper processing methods overseas seem to have impacted severely on the plant.
"At a time when the entire industry in Wexford is already reeling from the reductions in the scallop catch, this is the last thing those whose livelihoods depend on fishing-related activities needed.
"With the industry in slow decline around the country, it is to be hoped that this announcement is not the beginning of the steady erosion of the marine industry in Wexford."
Mr Howlin called for Wexford's Fisheries Minister John Browne to speak out on the Kilmore Quay losses and the survival of the fishing industry in the area.
PA