Four former ministers have raised question marks over An Taisce’s court action against a proposed cheese plant sought by Glanbia in the south-east – and called on the organisation to withdraw the action.
Fine Gael TDs Charlie Flanagan, Paul Kehoe, John Paul Phelan and David Stanton have strongly criticised An Taisce and accused the body of delaying the €140 million investment on the Kilkenny-Waterford border.
In a joint statement this afternoon (Wednesday, March 31), the TDs – who each held a ministerial position in the last government – said:
The decision by the state-funded nongovernmental organisation, An Taisce, is a serious blow to dairy farmers in Leinster.
“The decision to block the new Glanbia cheese plant at Belview is bad for jobs, bad for rural Ireland and bad for farm families.
“The proposed new cheese plant is fully in line with government policy on dairy production and recognises the need for the dairy industry to diversify and mitigate against the damage caused by Brexit.
“This new exciting cheese plant received permission from the local authority and has the backing from An Bord Pleanála. The new cheese plant is to produce continental type cheese mainly for export.
Many young progressive dairy farmers have decided to invest in rural Ireland and Agriculture. They have borrowed heavily to acquire modern technology.
The TDs highlighted that such farmers have “invested in the rural economy and now face serious financial loss”, adding that jobs will be lost also.
Claiming that the “court action taken by An Taisce chose a clear anti-rural economy bias and is vexatious”, the former ministers said:
An Taisce should withdraw this divisive court action.
“Rural Ireland faces many challenges not least with Covid-19 and Brexit. For a state-funded non-government agency to add to this hardship is unacceptable and wrong,” the joint statement concluded.