§ 5. Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what decision she has made regarding Government support for the proposed Sean Quinn glass factory. [5894]
§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Adam Ingram)Under the previous Administration, the decision was taken to offer Government support for the proposed Sean Quinn glass factory. As my hon. Friend will know, this is a mobile project to manufacture glass containers in Northern Ireland. The project aims to create 330 new jobs in a socially disadvantaged area of County Fermanagh.
§ Mr. IllsleyI am grateful to my hon. Friend, but I must inform him that that decision will be greeted with great dismay in my constituency, where the glass industry is a major employer. There is now over-capacity in the glass container industry, and the level of grant that has been given to the Sean Quinn project will allow that factory to undercut the present cost level in Great Britain. Will my hon. Friend look again at the project, which is bound to displace jobs throughout Great Britain?
§ Mr. IngramMy hon. Friend made a significant contribution as shadow Minister for economic affairs in Northern Ireland, and I thank him for that—he certainly made part of my job easier. On the specific points he raises, all those matters were taken into consideration by the previous Administration, and I have subsequently reviewed them. The best advice is that the matter is of a contractual nature, as a consequence of which it would be difficult to revisit the project as he requests.