SIPTU reps say they’re hoping to meet with officials from Tirlán to discuss redundancies and the proposed restructuring of the Dairy Co-op.
The Kilkenny born company is looking for a cost reduction programme with 150 jobs at risk and is blaming EU and Government policies.
Terry Bryan Industrial Organiser with SIPTU says “I think to be fair even though we knew this review was underway there was a level of shock when the announcement was made across a number of sites and I suppose at this stage it’s a case of us as the trade union representing the workers in the company seeking to engage with the management and to try find an acceptable resolution for our members”.
Chair of the ICMSA, Denis Drennan from Kilkenny, says he feared this is “just the beginning” of a massive restructuring of our dairy sector due primarily to current Government policy.
He adds that our dairy sector is now shrinking before our eyes as deliberately depressive policies and regulations were piled on low prices and high inputs prices. He described as “delusional” the idea that the sector could experience the kind of collapse in investment, income and volumes it was now undergoing without having a negative multiplier on the wider rural economy all over the State but most particularly in Munster and South Leinster.
“The 150 redundancies that Tirlán are seeking may be just the beginning of a wider sector restructuring; we are in danger of entering a period of decline of the sector that more than any other provided prosperity and economic prospects to rural areas all across the State. The tragedy – and in time it will be judged as exactly that – is that it was perfectly possible to move smoothly towards our environmental targets while preserving our world-leading dairy sector and the rural economic bulwark it represents. ICMSA has on numerous occasions outlined how and why we should do that”, said Mr Drennan.
“Instead, the Government and EU have decided on a crude policy aimed at just regulating dairy farmers out of existence at the prompting of a chorus of self-appointed and self-important so-called eco ‘activists’ and commentators. There’s no point in the Government denying that this has not been the policy; the evidence is all around us in the crashing income and plunging volumes of production. It’s also to be seen in the empty order books of rural companies and contractors as the ”milk multiplier’ works negatively in reverse. The job losses have now begun and the ‘hollowing-out’ of the rural economy will now pick up pace with the attendant social and demographic changes that will bring”, said Mr Drennan, himself a Tirlan supplier.
Meanwhile, the IFA President, Laois man Francie Gorman, in a statement to KCLR News says “The tightening of the existing Nitrates derogation, together with increased regulation and cuts to supports, are making life more and more difficult for the dairy and tillage farmers that supply Tirlán,”
“Today’s announcement must be a wake-up call for the Government to focus on the economic well-being of the sector,”
“They oversaw a cut to the derogation limit without any proper assessment of the economic or indeed the environmental consequences. There must an immediate focus on the sector to see how we can grow it sustainably to protect farmers livelihoods and jobs in the sector,”
“This morning’s announcement will be concerning for Tirlàn staff and their families. Morale is also very low amongst farmers. There is so much policy uncertainty that farmers cannot make plans. This must be addressed,”
“I would emphasise the need for Tirlán to pay a strong milk and grain price to farmers and to ensure access to competitively-priced inputs. Farmers are hurting too and they cannot take any further cuts to their margins”.
KCLR News has reached out to Tirlán for comment – a spokesperson says they’ve nobody available.
