Farmers Angry at Meat Plant Closure
IRELAND - Irish beef farmers are concerned over the potential impact the closure of a meat processing plant will have on their businesses.
1 February 2008
1 minute read
More than 150 farmer suppliers from counties Kilkenny, Laois and Tipperary in Ireland attended an IFA meeting in Freshford Hall last Thursday night over the closure of the local meat factory, Slaney Freshford.
The meeting was chaired by Kilkenny IFA Chairman John Bryan and was attended by the Minister for Trade John McGuinness together with other local politicians including Phil Hogan.
Mr Bryan said farmers at the meeting expressed their serious concern over the closure of the meat plant, which processed 35,000 cattle last year from local suppliers and its implication over the removal of price competition for cattle.
Strong anger was expressed by farmers at the meeting that the Slaney Group were using the closure of Slaney Freshford as part of a beef industry rationalisation plan in the drawdown of Government grant aid from Enterprise Ireland.
Minister John McGuinness gave a strong commitment to the meeting that Government funding would not be used to reduce competition in the meat trade.
Mr Bryan said the meeting elected a Committee including John McGuinness, the IFA County Chairman from Kilkenny and Laois as well as local suppliers to meet with the Slaney Group, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade to examine all aspects of the closure and ensure that farmers were not being discriminated against.
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