Plant closure ends 40 years of pork production
A total of 140 workers have lost their jobs in Mitchelstown as a result of the Galtee decision. Another 70 jobs were lost in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, last month, with the closure of another Dairygold pigmeat plant.
Dairygold has repeatedly insisted that its decision was unavoidable as it was no longer in a position to sustain an operation which was not competitive. It remained committed to buying Irish pork for its consumer meats products.
The co-op predicts that the decision will prove of benefit not just to the co-op and retained sustainable employment in its consumer foods operations but also to pig producers and the sector overall.
But the IFA pigs committee chairman Pat O’Keeffe described the Galtee pig slaughter closure as a devastating blow to all producers, particularly those directly affected in the Munster region. He said the IFA and local pig farmers have never accepted the Galtee closure as being in the best interests of pig farmers throughout the country, despite the “spin” being put out by various individuals and third parties.
Mr O’Keeffe said he found it ironic that many senior people within Dairygold are this week describing the closure of Galtee as “successful.” This was a very poor reflection on a farmers’ co-op where success was measured by the speed at which they could break the link with the primary producer.
He said all eyes will now focus on the Department of Agriculture and Enterprise Ireland who have given the closure decision their ringing endorsement and equally professed that slaughter capacity will not be an issue for any pig farmer.
This at first glance was reassuring but even a quick review of the live export figures to the North show that even without the 8,500 Galtee pigs, up to 10,000 pigs a week from the Republic are sold out of necessity to Grampian Country Foods in Cookstown because there is insufficient capacity or demand in the southern plants.
Mr O’Keeffe said the impact and resulting increased costs arising from the closure of Galtee is not a challenge pig farmers either expected to or should have had to face in 2004. The closure of a profitable business in a struggling co-op would not have been an obvious target, but since the issue was forced by Dairygold management it had to be addressed and pig farmers will make no apologies for stoutly defending their interests.
He said Dairygold management has yet to bring a satisfactory conclusion to negotiations which will offset increased transport and related costs of up to €4 per pig for affected farmers.
