Farmers fear the worst over closure of meat plant
One supplier, who did not want to be named, said the plant had been working at full capacity for many months.
Local farmer Michael Walsh expressed amazement at the surprise closure.
Plant owner Michael Beahan, who owns a second meat plant in Bagenalstown, said he intends to be a long-term player in the beef sector in Ireland.
However, that does not mean he will be running two plants, farmer suppliers were quick to point out last night.
As fears grow that the Clonmel area is to face a further 100 job losses, the Fine Gael deputy spokesman on agriculture, Tom Hayes, called on Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh, and the owners of Fair Oaks to clarify the situation in Clonmel.
Fair Oaks said it lost money in January/February last year by keeping two plants open. By shutting Clonmel temporarily it hopes to avoid those losses at this time of the year.
Farmer suppliers are sceptical about this, maintaining it will never reopen as they face another serious threat to their livelihoods.
Farmers say the site is a prime property location that could be sold for housing development while they face the loss of a plant that has been substantially modernised in recent years.
It is understood to be worth several million euro as a highly-prized development site in the town.
Another industry source described the whole process as “nothing short of sinister.”
This announcement came the day farmers took to the streets to protest their loss of income. Now they face further pressure if competition is about to be taken out of a market that many regard to be a cartel.
If plants are taken out of operation, then farmers would have no hope of a fair price ever again, warned one angry supplier, who regards the entire Enterprise Ireland rationalisation move to be anti-competitive and another move to further downgrade farm incomes.
The loss of marts due to the edict from the Department of Agriculture that they had to go electronic is a further blow to the farming community which many regard to be a payback for the last blockade of the meat plants.
In response to the growing fears about the situation in Clonmel, Fine Gael Tipperary South TD, Tom Hayes, called on the owners of the Fair Oaks plant and the Minister for Agriculture to immediately issue a statement on the future of the factory, in order to put to bed suspicions and to allay workers’ fears.
“The long-term commitment of the company to its future in Clonmel is now in serious doubt,” he said.
“Rumours over the past number of weeks that the company would be axed under an agreement with the meat factories and the Minister for Agriculture have been circulating in the area,” he said.
