Bitter sweet to swallow as Oatfield closes Irish factory

An era has come to an end in Donegal today as sweet makers Oatfield announced that they will close their Letterkenny factory. That means the legendary granny sweets Emeralds will no longer be Irish made.

The manufacturing facility is to close by the end of the month with the loss of 15 jobs. Oatfield sweets will now be made exclusively in Britain.

The sweet maker, now owned by Zed Candy, reviewed its cost structure and came to the conclusion that production in Ireland was no longer viable.

Staff have known since January that there was a chance that their jobs were at risk. They met with the Mayor of Letterkenny at the start of the year to raise concerns they had about the future of the plant.

The Letterkenny Chamber President John Watson said that no one was really surprised by the news, but it was still a major hit for the area.

He told the Irish Independent: "The closure of Oatfields unfortunately does not come as a surprise and this announcement ends the speculation that has been around for a number of months about the future."

Fans of Oatfield can just be thankful for now that they will still be able to buy their favourite boiled sweets and toffee.