The secretary general at the Department of Agriculture has said that there is no possibility at moment of growing sugar beet here for the production of sugar.
But Tom Moran said he would support feasibility studies for the growing of beet for the production of a green fuel, bio-ethanol.
He was speaking at the Oireachtas Committee for Agriculture this afternoon. The committee discussed a recent report from the EU Court of Auditors which said an efficient sugar producer had closed down in Ireland.
Mr Moran said that the decision to shut the Mallow sugar factory in 2006 was taken by its owner Greencore alone, and neither the Government nor the Department of Agriculture had any power to prevent this.
Mr Moran also said that the then Minister for Agriculture was completely opposed to the EU proposals for reform of sugar regulations. But Mr Moran said a compensation package of €350m was secured for Ireland when negotiations on the reforms ended.
Mr Moran also said that during the negotiations the Irish side presented the most up-to-date information about the situation in Ireland.
