Fitzmaurice comes out all guns blazing on Bord na Mona

Environmentalists such as former president Mary Robinson should stop flying around the world adding to the carbon footprint instead of dancing on the grave of Bord na Mona.

Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice said he believed it was incredible that people were welcoming news of the job losses at Bord na Mona as part of its decarbonisation plan by 2025 – five years ahead of schedule.

Bord na Mona is in consultation with unions about a voluntary redundancy scheme, with 150 outdoor jobs expected to go before Easter next year. A further 260 jobs are to be lost in the company’s headquarters in Kildare.

Deputy Fitzmaurice said around 60 workers were based in Derryfada bog in Ballyforan on the Galway/Roscommon border, which was closed for peat production.

“They will probably keep a skeleton staff to take out bridges and for regenerating the bog. Now, I’m not saying all of those 60 will go – there may be staff who go for the redundancies in the Blackwater plant near Shannonbridge or the Mount Dillon near Lanesborough and they could be redeployed at these two locations.”

He predicted to the Connacht Tribune that by the time the semi-state ended peat production, there could be 2,000 jobs lost throughout the midlands region as sub-contractors and local businesses were affected.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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