A north Mayo action group has appealed to the Government and State agencies to prevent the break-up of a £30 million peat fuel plant which has never gone into production.
Udaras na Gaeltachta has been urged to increase its bid for the assets of the peat fuel project at Muingmore, between Belmullet and Geesala, which was initiated almost 20 years ago by Westport businessman and former Fine Gael TD and senator, Mr Myles Staunton. The venture was abandoned last year by its most recent owner, Norwegian multinational Norsk Hydro.
The Norwegian multinational's failure should not colour the fact that the project does have potential for the area, according to the Erris Action Group, which involves local business people in the Belmullet/Geesala area and former employees in Muingmore.
A Cavan businessman, Mr Gerard Clarke, has been seeking £2.5 million for the high-technology plant, on which about £26 million in foreign capital and £3 million in State funds have been spent over two decades in an effort to produce a new type of peat briquette.
However, the Gaeltacht authority has been reluctant to increase its upper bid limit of £750,000, and says ministerial approval would be required for any higher offer. The Gaeltacht authority has expressed serious doubts about the project's viability, and believes the site might serve better as the location for an enterprise centre in an area of high unemployment - estimated at 55 per cent in Erris.
It obtained repayments of grants worth up to £1.8 million from Norsk Hydro after the Norwegian oil, gas, fertiliser and aluminium giant decided to suspend work at the site with the loss of 43 jobs.
Two members of the Udaras, Mr Tim Quinn and Mr Ian McAndrew, have sought a special meeting of the authority to discuss the issue. The Erris Action Committee fears that the assets will be broken up, and is hosting a public meeting in Geesala on Sunday to highlight its concerns.
The action committee believes the project could employ up to 200 people. It could also provide an outlet for Bord na Mona peat when the ESB peat station at Bellacorick closes in 2004. "Udaras has not given the same commitment to the Erris Gaeltacht as it has to the Connemara Gaeltacht, and it would only require an additional £3 million to £4 million to get this off the ground," Mr Seamus Cafferkey, chairman of the action group, said yesterday.
Mr Staunton, who persuaded Norsk Hydro to become involved after three unsuccessful efforts by previous backers, also believes the project has a future and has drawn up a business plan for potential investors.
Mr Staunton had run a joint seaweed venture in Mayo with a Norsk Hydro subsidiary, and was employed as a consultant and offered a directorship and shareholding on the peat project by the Norwegian concern. He took a High Court action when his contract was revoked, and secured a six-figure settlement late last year.
