Taoiseach meets farmers to discuss pig meat business
The co-op announced last month it was to cease pig slaughtering and boning activities at the Galtee plant in Mitchelstown and to close another facility in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, with a total loss of 270 jobs.
But the IFA has since asked Dairygold to seriously reconsider its decision.
Deputy President Ruaidhri Deasy, who will lead today’s delegation along with Michael Berkery, general secretary, said Dairygold had a strong track record with more than 40 years involvement in the pig industry with the Galtee brand.
They said it would be wrong to see the link with pig producers broken, especially when management confirmed the business was profitable.
Mr Deasy said all options should be considered including the possibility of a new buyer for the plant, to operate it as a going concern, especially as management appeared determined to get rid of it at all costs. A new investor would bring with it a new vision and dynamic for the pig industry in Ireland, which is badly needed.
The former Food Minister Ned
O’Keeffe, who arranged today’s meeting with the Taoiseach, said Dairygold’s decision could lead to the collapse of the pig industry, which will not have sufficient capacity to process the throughput.
Dairygold, however, has already told pig producers that the decision was unavoidable.
It was due to the co-op’s lack of scale and high labour cost in its pig meat processing operations.
The co-op said it was the right business decision, as the co-op was no longer in a position to sustain an operation that was not competitive.
It said it remained committed to buying Irish pork for its consumers of meats products and would remain a substantial buyer of Irish pig meat. It also insisted there was capacity in the sector for the weekly throughput of pigs.
