Published: Thursday, 17th September, 2009 9:00am

Jobs at risk at quarry

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Jobs are at risk at a Fermanagh quarry as the economic downturn continues to hit the struggling construction industry hard.

Tarmac Ltd, which has a base in Ederney, supplies building materials and also offers road contracting services. But owing to the current climate, the English company has been forced to axe its services in the county because of a "lack of demand". Their Dunaree quarry at Drumquin, Co Tyrone, will be also affected - meaning up to 20 jobs across the two sites are under threat.

Penny Bradley, spokesperson for Tarmac Ltd said: "In response to the tough economic conditions faced by the construction industry, Tarmac has taken the difficult decision to withdraw from some of its operations in the west of the province."

She added: "We are currently in consultation with our workforce in these sites to discuss the way forward and provide any support we can."

Locals in Ederney are shocked and frustrated by the potential closure of the quarry. One Tarmac customer said: "I know everyone is struggling at the moment but surely those in charge can find a better solution than to do away with it altogether?" Another local labourer added: "It just hits home a bit more because I know all the workers personally, I really feel for them."

SDLP MLA Tommy Gallagher also expressed his concern about the future of the quarry's Fermanagh workforce; "This is bitterly disappointing news for those workers at the quarry. We have all to be concerned about the workers and their families during these difficult times. Small and medium businesses are finding it extremely difficult to keep their business going in these tough financial markets. This must be a worrying blow for those workers and their families in an area highly dependent on the construction trade."

A 30 day consultation period with Tarmac's employees began last week.

Plumbers, electricians, labourers, are all feeling the full force of hard times equally as each other. To add insult to injury, statistics released this week claimed that most of the credit crunch had passed.

But Kevin Lawrenson of the Citizen's Advice Bureau in Enniskillen queried the notion. "If the recession was over then we would see new jobs and job vacancies - but we're not. We have seen an increase in all aspects of personal debt in Fermanagh; bankruptcies are on a record level and household repossessions are on the increase. To say something as blunt as 'the recession is over' is unfair on too many people," he said.