65 new jobs as firm beefs up production

Sixty-five jobs were created in Dawn Meats yesterday when a €14.5m facility was opened for production by Enda Kenny.

The facility will process of 18,000 tonnes of beef a year for McDonald’s in a contract that is worth €300m over its five-year duration.

Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne said the opening was a hugely important step in a period of development for the company.

“Today’s opening marks the beginning of an exciting new phase of development in our relationship with McDonald’s. We are now seeing the vertical integration of the beef supply chain, with supply, slaughter and processing now all taking place in Ireland, leading to increased value add and enabling our company to create and sustain Irish jobs,”

Managing director of McDonald’s Ireland, Adrian Crean, said: “McDonald’s is very happy to source Irish beef which is highly regarded internationally as a quality, grass-fed product.

“Dawn Meats had to demonstrate quality, reliability and the ability to meet McDonald’s high standards to win this contract. We are very pleased to see this state-of-the-art facility opening today and we look forward to working with Dawn Meats and the 18,000 Bord Bia Quality Assured Irish farmers who supply them.”

The Taoiseach said the agri-food sector would help drag Ireland out of recession: “The success of Irish agri-food companies such as Dawn Meats and their ability to develop and grow relationships with leading global companies such as McDonald’s is extremely important as it helps to create jobs at home through Irish food exports. These investments are a huge vote of confidence in Dawn Meats and also in Ireland as a location to do business.”