MUCH has been written about the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. No doubt, much more will, but there is a flip side to the coin too.
For all its faults, and down the years they have not been inconsiderable, the industry has a become a huge employer, providing well paid jobs for many thousands young graduates in particular.
Cork has the greatest concentration of such industries in the State. The 1,000 acre Ringaskiddy industrial estate in Cork Harbour was developed by the local authorities in the region at an immense cost. By the time it was ready to receive industry over two decades ago, not much change was left out of £100 million.
The estate was designed to attract the pharma/chem sector. The criterion was that those using the facility would be major water users, needing a highly developed port to export their wares. A massive road network was put in place. Cross country water pipes were laid. The Industrial Development Agency set about aggressive marketing of the estate and with varying degrees of success. As the most costly piece of infrastructure of its day, it begged many questions.
Would it work? Was it over ambitious? The chief executive of the IDA at the time, Mr Padraic White, told The Irish Times in an interview back in the 80s that the estate would meet all its promises. Check back in a year, he said and I could satisfy myself that his prophesy had been fulfilled. It hasn't, and the reason says much about the way the modern Irish State is heading.
By and large, its vast acres lie fallow. The industry hasn't come in, and in the age of the Internet and global communications, the IDA's emphasis is now on the computer industry. The goal posts have been shifted, but that doesn't detract from the achievements.
It may well be that the environmental lobby in Cork has slowed the rush of the pharma/chem industry. More than once, the industry's leaders and Government officials warned that a too vocal anti lobby would stifle inward investment and hurt not only the regional but the national economy.
These fears were expressed publicly. Privately, though, anyone who took the time to talk to the more thoughtful managers in the industry heard a different story. There was internal dissension about the attitude of some companies compared with how others approached their environmental responsibilities. At high level meetings, these tensions were hammered out. The more responsible industries who felt they were subject to media flak because of the lax approach of some in the sector demanded improvements. The environmental lobby was not party to those meetings but it had its suspicions.
Before the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, accusations flew. There was a point at which the conservationists and simply concerned residents were seen as the enemy, but events in Cork Harbour notably the almost catastrophic fires in August of 1993 at two plants in Ringaskiddy proved them right. The watchdogs were necessary and they still are. Vast improvements have taken place, however, and they ought to be acknowledged.
Frequently, the pharma/chem sector has asked why newspapers like The Irish Times concentrate as they see it only on them while ignoring other sources of environmental pollution. They ask why the farming community, for instance, is not pinpointed. One manager of a major pharmaceutical plant wants to know and with some justification why the annual greening of the River Lee, and its causes, is not high lighted.
The EPA's lain Maclean is happier now with the compliance levels of the industry than he has been at any time. As the chief environmental officer of Cork County Council, he knew better than most what the problems were and why many people did not believe the local authority was up to the job. Now he is convinced there are better controls, better monitoring and a more concerned attitude on the part of the industry.
In about two months, a report on the pharma/chem sector will be published by the Irish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Manufacturers Federation. It makes interesting reading. Tellingly, the draft report, which, The Irish Times has seen, says in its preamble that the regulatory environment has become tighter while the industry is experiencing massive competition. It then goes on to list the impressive record of the industry in Ireland.
"Employing over 18,500 people, contributing over £5 billion to exports and over £200 million to the Exchequer, the IPCMF believes that the pharma/chem industry is good for Ireland, and more importantly, that the pharma/chem industry is good for Irish graduates employing over 30 per cent of its workforce in the area. The aim of this plan is to map out how the industry and the federation can work together to secure a strong and competitive industry into the next century," the document says.
It continues. "Eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies (by sales) have plants in Ireland. This reflects the dominance of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals in the Irish sector. The heavy and petrochemical industry is not well represented in Ireland due to the remoteness from raw materials and also the capital intensity of this end of the industry.
"The Irish chemical industry is viewed as being a high tech, high value sector, which is new no plant being over the age of 30 years. The nature of the Irish pharma/chem industry makes it less vulnerable to changes in the economic cycle than the more cost sensitive commodity based industry. Since the late 1960s Ireland has been able to build a thriving pharma/chem sector which is characterised by its sophistication and high quality. Most of the operations are small scale but very high value. This has allowed the sector to develop successfully with minimal impact on the environment.
"Ireland has gained an excellent reputation as being a manufacturer of finished pharmaceutical products as well as intermediaries and fine chemicals. In short this sector is vibrant and ripe for further expansion. With recent employment growth rates of close to 20 per cent, the pharma/chem sector has a vital contribution to make to Ireland's fight against unemployment.
The report, which can be seen as good news for an industry that has taken its fair share of criticism, is marked "strictly private and confidential," which doesn't make much sense. It goes on to discuss the relatively young age of all Irish pharma/chem plants and to make this observation "Many of the negative characteristics of the older chemical industries in Europe, such as massive scale intrusion on local communities and pollution problems, are not characteristics of the Irish industry.
"Most Irish plants are small batch type operations. Many of them, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, manufacture to extremely high quality standards, with the majority of the pharmaceutical companies being audited by the Amen can, Food and Drugs Administration.
Compare the Irish industry with its big brothers in Europe. The Bayer plant at Leverkusen in Germany employees 37,000 people in 600 buildings. The entire Irish chemical industry employs 18,600 people, with the majority of plants located in Cork and Dublin. Even though small by European standards, the industry's growth rate has been phenomenal.
In 1973, exports totalled £79 million. By 1995, they had reached more than £5 billion and the graph suggests that the development of the Irish industry has outstripped almost all competitors. There have been suggestions that this is because we in Ireland are less strict in our approach to the environment and that we are seen as a soft touch, but this is what the EPA had to say on that issue last year.
"The sectors with the highest profile in terms of their capacity to inflict environmental damage are also the most conscious of the impact of these issues on their business. Eighty per cent of companies surveyed have invested in environmentally friendly technologies and over two thirds have changed processes to minimise waste."
According to the report, a study of the capital expenditure by members of the IPCMF, carried out by the Cork Regional Technical College, shows that member companies have invested about £2.8 billion since the inception of the industry. The same study estimated that the industry spends close to £1 billion annually in the Irish economy. The industry says that for every direct job created another is made possible.
That means that more than 40,000 Irish jobs are giving good employment because of the IDA's decision to bring the pharma/chem sector to this State. Yet the industry has been slow to discuss its merits the fact that its products have made high tech surgery possible, the fact that many Irish graduates would have no outlet in its absence. There are signs that this is changing, and a change would be welcome.
A very powerful industry, with the potential to cause problems at many levels must be taken seriously. It can rightfully point to what it has achieved. It must accept too, that people who care about issues like the quality of air, water, and food, are not cranks and that they have a role to play.
Summarising, the report makes these observations. "Since its inception, the Irish pharma/chem industry has expanded rapidly. Now a major employer and a valuable exporter, the sector is poised for further growth. Companies are characterised by their commitment to quality and the environment, and have the reputation of being excellent employers especially of third level graduates.
"Rightly identified by Forfas as an important sector for Ireland economy in the future, it is vital that Ireland Inc ensures that the business environment is conducive to further growth of the sector. This includes getting the mix of taxation, infrastructure, human resources and support for research and development right ... It is commonly accepted that Ireland has the fastest growing pharma/chem industry in the western world. It is a high value, clean niche sector, which has an excellent strategic fit with the Irish economy. It is vital that the potential of this sector continues to be realised well into and beyond the next century."
That's what the report says. It is clear that the industry has and will be an important player in the Irish economy. That there have been difficulties is undeniable, but there is a middle ground and perhaps both sides are moving towards it. Enormous strides have been made since the days when nobody had faith in the ability of local authorities especially in Cork, to police an industry that offered both hope and threats at the same time. There are grounds for optimism.