The Factory a History

The Factory was originally built as an ice cream factory but this business did not last long before it closed. We are given to understand that by the time the ice cream factory closed a total of IRP 600k of tax payers money had been spent. The factory then remained empty for 6 years.

During this period the factory was the subject of some controversy. Mr. Edward Twomey of Clonakilty Black Pudding fame was manufacturing his Black Pudding in primitive circumstances in the town and lobbied IDA that he be given the factory for his rapidly expanding business. This was refused. It would seem that a local politician who had developed a feeling of ownership about the factory building wanted to be able to say that he had brought in a company for the factory.
Mr. Twomey’s enterprise did not fit the bill as it was there already and so would not bestow the required political benefit to the politician.

So at some point the expensive tiled and drained floor was ripped out and a new concrete floor installed rendering the factory unsuitable for food production. So Mr. Twomey moved his business to Little Island in Cork where it is to this day and employs about 50 people.

So the role of this building in employment destruction in the case of Holts was not the first time that this had happened. This was not the first time that IDA's fun and games with this building had driven secure employment out of Clonakilty.

This phenomenon is all the more damaging when you consider that food production is a natural adjunct in this rural agricultural area. The fact that IDA pervert the industrial geography of the country by ignoring the science of location theory in locating businesses is simply a fact. Their location theory is simply which politician has the most clout.