Enterprise Ireland has said it is very confident of getting back the u£900,000 in State money given to the food-processing group Kepak for its failed Leitrim Foods operation.
Local people picketed the premises at Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, on Tuesday and Wednesday as Kepak went ahead with a viewing for prospective buyers of the equipment in the plant.
The sale of the equipment was described as "asset-stripping" and an act of "economic cannibalism" by Mr Sean Wynne, secretary of Lough Allen Regional Community Association.
It is felt by the local community that if the equipment is taken out, the tradition of food-processing in Drumshanbo will be lost and another tenant will be very hard to find.
Drumshanbo is already an unemployment black-spot, and the area has suffered a succession of economic setbacks over the past 10 years, the main one being the closure of Arigna Mines in 1990 with the loss of 250 jobs. A total of 450 jobs have been lost over 15 years, and no lasting replacement has been found.
At an angry public meeting in Drumshanbo on Wednesday night, attended by more than 100 people, the authorities in Dublin were condemned for their neglect of the area.
One of the most startling statistics to emerge was that the number of children at the local national school has fallen from 330 a decade ago to 130 today.
In Drumshanbo this week, it seemed that the demise of the factory was the final straw. Mr Padraig McLoughlin, the principal of Drumshanbo Vocational School who chaired the public meeting, said "a massive shell" would not be an attractive proposition for any investor.
"It is one thing to have a company leave the area, but when a factory is asset-stripped and all that is left is a shed, that is another matter," Mr McLoughlin added.
The plant and equipment are privately owned as Kepak bought the former Lairds jam plant from its then owners Greencore Plc in 1994, and after failing to meet targets it closed in June.
Employment at the plant never exceeded 50, and only about 10 people were entitled to statutory redundancy when it closed. There had been a high staff turnover.
The finance director for the Kepak Group, Mr Robbie Grogan, said yesterday that a statement issued by the company saying the plant would remain "a fully serviced food grade factory" was correct.
At Wednesday night's meeting alarm was expressed that the sale catalogue given to buyers included not just jam- and pasta-making machinery but also basic refrigeration equipment.
Mr Grogan said "anything to do with the infrastructure of the plant" would be left intact, and some refrigeration equipment included in the sale catalogue had been brought to the sale from other Kepak factories.
In a statement this week, Kepak pointed out that over the five years of operation it did not receive any capital grants: however, Mr Grogan accepted that money was owed to Enterprise Ireland.
"We have a long-standing relationship with Enterprise Ireland and Forbairt before them. We have obligations to them and we intend to fulfil our obligations," Mr Grogan said.
A spokesman for Enterprise Ireland confirmed yesterday that a total of u £900,000 was given to Kepak. This was in the form of employment grants, R & D grants and share equity.
The spokesman said discussions were taking place with Kepak about getting this money returned.
Mr Grogan also said he did not envisage any equipment being moved out of the plant "within a month". He said "one of the primary remits" given to the agent handling the sale was to try to find a buyer for the entire plant. He confirmed that a number of offers had been made and said Kepak was also in discussions with one international company about the factory.
The Enterprise Ireland spokesman said the agency had taken at least two potential investors from overseas to view the factory since it closed. He said he did not believe the loss of the jam- and pasta-making equipment would prevent the plant from being used again as a food operation.
Local people, however, suspicious after hard experience, will be slow to accept assurances from Kepak or Enterprise Ireland. At Wednesday's meeting they called on their TDs to urge the Tanaiste and the Minister for Agriculture to put pressure on Kepak to stop the sale of equipment and said that if necessary they would apply for a court injunction themselves to get the sale stopped.