An Irish mushroom plant has announced it is to close - just days before the introduction by government of a controversial carbon tax that growers warn could lead to further shutdowns.
Drimbawn Mushrooms, which has been operating in Belmullet, County Mayo, for around six years, exporting to the UK, is set to close in the next few months, with the loss of over 70 jobs.
Monaghan Mushrooms, which owns the plant, says the displaced workers will be offered alternative employment at some of its other facilities across the Republic, including the company’s headquarters in Tyholland, County Monaghan.
The increasing cost of transport, compounded by petrol and diesel price rises as a result of the carbon tax, is the main reason behind the closure, according to local business leader Ian McAndrew. “The travelling is costing the company a fortune,” he said, “because the raw material has to come from Monaghan to Mayo and the mushrooms have to go back there. Now the production is to be transferred to a new facility in Monaghan in a bid to cut costs.”
Distribution costs are just one of the worries for the sector - the tax, taking effect from May 1, will also force up the price of heating fuel and electricity. “It’s a double whammy for growers,” said Noel Heavey of Greenfield Mushrooms in County Kildare. “We can’t reclaim the extra costs because retailers, in both the home and UK markets, won’t entertain any price rises, and they are in a position to dictate terms.
“The timing of this tax couldn’t be worse - we have had an awful winter, we are still in recession, and growers are just managing to break even. We simply don’t have any alternative when it comes to heating - the government may say we should switch to burning wood pellets, but that involves an investment none of us can afford.”
Heavey, a member of the mushroom producers’ committee of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), blames the Green Party in the Irish coalition government for pushing the carbon tax. “The party has its own agenda - it’s not concerned about the impact on our sector, or on agriculture in general,” he said. “But the reality is that we are being killed by a thousand cuts and for some, the extra costs will be unsustainable.”
IFA president John Bryan has appealed to government to delay or modify the tax, citing the decision of France not to go ahead with a similar measure. He pointed out that Irish farm incomes last year were “the lowest in a generation”, and added: “In lost jobs and its impact on competitiveness, this tax will cost the exchequer a lot more than the revenue it will generate.”
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