A French firm in Castleblayney will leave the town unless suitable housing can be provided for workers.
French firm Eurolivres Ltd has set up a factory with the support of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) in Castleblayney. The firm has threatened to move the business elsewhere if the housing needs of its employees are not met. The company expects to employ 140 people and is training a number of operatives but production at the factory has been delayed over housing in the town.
General manager Monsieur Fau has threatened to close the plant unless workers, some of whom have to relocate, are provided with suitable and reasonable housing. At the last meeting of the Castleblayney Town Council, the new industry's bindery manager Donal Cummins presented the factory's case.
The main problem is that there is no housing available of any kind for key workers who are needed to operate the plant here.
Key workers who are experts in the field are required to train local workers, and without them, the plant can not operate. Donal Cummins says that when the project began, housing was promised by the IDA but what has been offered is sub-standard. The accommodation offered are prefabricated houses in a local authority scheme which are deemed not suitable.
Drumillard Estate offers a mix of council and private houses. However, factory workers were not happy with the proximity of the estate to a chicken farm and a dump.
Vice chairman of the Castleblayney Urban District Council Gerry Atkinson says that there are already 150 people on the housing waiting list in the town who have to be prioritised ahead of these new workers. He says that the responsibility to provide housing for these workers falls to the IDA and the government.
The workers involved in the argument insist they are not looking for special treatment and are willing to pay for suitable accommodation in a normal manner. They also feel let down by the IDA, who say they are doing everything they can to solve the problem.
IDA regional manager Cathal McCarthy says that they have offered possible solutions to the workers in the form of system-built housing and traditional houses. He believes that the workers are not against system-built houses but rather they seem reluctant to live in Drumillard Estate.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 March 1975. The reporter is Seán Duignan.
