THE most likely purchaser of the Semperit tyre plant has said it is no longer interested in buying the factory, which employs 650 people.
This was confirmed to Semperit unions yesterday by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton.
A spokesman for the unions said the Korean firm Kumho was pulling out of discussions because of "obstacles" created by Semperit's European parent, Continental AG. A spokeswoman for Semperit said that since the closure announcement "every effort has been made to attract prospective buyers".
The union spokesman said: "We believed that Kumho was our best hope of ever again producing tyres in Ballyfermot". According to the Department, Mr Bruton has "serious concerns" about the bona fides of Continental AG in finding a buyer.
Yesterday the Minister sent a letter by fax to the headquarters of Continental AG requesting an immediate meeting to "clarify" the intentions of the company in regard to potential purchasers.
Kumho, which has other tyre manufacturing plants in Europe was said to be unhappy with the asking price for the factory.
Mr John Flannery, the senior shop steward at Semperit, said Continental AG had "set too high a price" and was "putting purchasers off" by its decision to remove all machinery from the plant before closure on December 6th. A statement from Semperit yesterday said such a decision would not "have a major influence on any prospective purchaser".
A spokesman for the Minister said Mr Bruton was "very disappointed" at Semperit's decision not to accept this week's Labour Court recommendation on severance pay for workers. He said the Minister had told union representatives that the Labour Court was a "respected institution of the State" and "its recommendation should be honoured by Continental".
Mr Bruton hoped to make this point clear to the management of the European company if a meeting could be agreed. He said Cooper Tyres in Ohio was still considering the option of purchasing, although the Department spokesman said it was "going to be difficult with Kumho out of the picture".
In a separate development, Mr Bruton said he was making £15,000 to £20,000 available through Forbairt to fund a feasibility study on the idea of an employee buyout. He told unions funds would be made available for the drafting of a preliminary business plan by the US employee-owned investment bank, American Capital Strategies.
A general meeting of workers will take place on Monday morning to discuss the future of the plant.