Ferbane, Co Offaly, was yesterday coming to grips with the possible loss of more than 300 jobs if the local power station closes.
The ESB management said on Thursday that it would recommend to its board the closure of the peat-burning generating station because of union difficulties. The closure would mean the loss of 130 jobs in the plant and 200 Bord na Mona jobs in south Offaly.
The ESB has made it known that the closure is being caused by the MSF union. The union has few members at the plant.
One person in the town, who did not want to be named, said yesterday: "I don't want to get into it, but if the plant closes down there will be hell to pay. We need the work here more than we need the unions."
The local Fine Gael TD, Mr Tom Enright, said he was asking for a special Dail debate on Wednesday and for a debate at Offaly County Council's next meeting.
"The atmosphere surrounding this dispute is white-hot. There is a lot of anger and a lot of frustration. It is a very difficult situation. I wish I was sure that the ESB is trying to force a settlement, but I am not. I will do everything in my power to ensure that there is some settlement."
The MSF national organiser, Mr Joe Bowers, explained the union's position on Midland Radio's lunchtime news. "Our members in Ferbane are behaving no differently than their union colleagues in any of the other plants, and I would like people to remember that."
He said the industrial relations problems were being dealt with under normal procedures, and his members should not be blamed.
A local shopkeeper, who also wanted to "stay out of it", estimated that the power station and the bog workers injected about £5 million a year into the local economy. "We are not just talking about Ferbane here. We are talking about Athlone, Tullamore and all the small towns around like Clara, Belmont and Ballycumber."
The chairman of Offaly County Council, Mr Johnny Flanagan, appealed for common sense. He asked the workers to heed the call by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, to resolve the issue.
Mr Flanagan was highly critical of both the ESB and the unions for failing over the last month to find a solution to the difficulties.
Senator Pat Gallagher of the Labour Party said the Taoiseach should, if necessary, intervene to prevent what he termed "the nightmare befalling west Offaly".