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”.
