Ex-Minister predicts repeat of ’98 pig slump
Farmers have been assured that sufficient capacity is available to absorb their diverted pig supplies. But this is rejected by Cork East TD and former Food Minister Ned O'Keeffe. He told the Dáil that holiday time and other down time taken out of Ireland’s theoretical slaughter capacity of 58,000 pigs per week leaves insufficient capacity to handle the national kill.
“This argument was rehearsed many times in 1998 when pigs could not be killed. I was Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food at the time”.
“As the Government of the day, we were seriously embarrassed when hundreds of small producers in the border counties left the industry, as they could not get their pigs slaughtered”. He asked Minister Coughlan to withhold grant payments until the Galtee pig plant is put back in place. “There is no financial need and no justification for its closure”, he said.
Deputy O’Keeffe said Glanbia slaughters 24,000 pigs at peak; Queally’s 9,000; Galtee Foods 10,000; McCarron’s 3,000; Dromone 2,000; Ballon 1,400; Drumlish 2,200; Duffy’s 1,300; Green Pastures 1,700; O’Connor’s 448; Cuniffe’s 150; and Kyle’s 300.
“Many peripheral plants have no guarantee they will be operating tomorrow or the day after, and they account for another 10,000 pigs. It is becoming a crisis. I ask the Minister to contact the chief executive of Dairygold as a matter of urgency”.
Deputy O’Keeffe, whose family has a long history of supplying pigs to Galtee in Mitchelstown, said the national kill is about 56,000 per week, and he presented figures to the Dáil which put the slaughter capacity at 45,498, when Galtee closes.
However, Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan replied that the main processors and Enterprise Ireland agree that sufficient processing capacity exists to absorb pigs diverted from Galtee.
According to John Cunningham of Dairygold Co-op, many Galtee pig suppliers have already made arrangements to supply other slaughter operations.
“All the normal arrangements in terms of delivery of pigs and pig pricing will remain a matter between the individual supplier and their chosen processing outlet”.
To assist a smooth transfer of supplies to alternative outlets, a Dairygold help line will be manned by staff familiar with pig suppliers for the next few months.
