This article is from page 17 of the 2006-10-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
THE Minister for Enterprise, Michael Martin moved to conclude talks on the revised mandate for Shannon Development after been told that the continuing uncertainty had given rise to a deep level of concern and frustration, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show.
In July of last year, Minister Martin announced a new mandate for Shannon Development, which removed from the company responsibility for the promotion of the Shannon Free Zone and transferred indigenous promotion functions to Enterprise Ireland. SIPTU firmly resisted the new mandate.
The talks dragged on for months and Mr McElligott wrote to Minister Martin in March to state: “To be frank, there is a deep level of frustration and concern.”
The documents released also show that at a meeting with Minister Martin one month later, Mr McElligott and chief executive, Kevin Thompstone told Minister Martin that “the new mandate provided 95 per cent of what the Board has sought and while it is difficult to assess the SIPTU position, it seemed clear that most staff now wished to move on”.
A note of an internal Departmental meeting on July 27, 2006 stated that during an informal meeting between the minister and SIPTU officials, it emerged that the union was not in a position to deliver any compromise proposal.
“As a result, Minister Martin ordered that the clarification process with SIPTU be regarded as concluded and the mandate implemented.
Later, it was announced that Shannon Development would retain responsibility for the Shannon Free Zone, though no documentation was released as to how the minister arrived at this decision.