Locals to appeal granting of planning permission for East Cork piggery

More than 3,350 people signed an online petition against the development and there were 222 submissions objecting to the planning application. Picture: Daragh Mac Sweeney/Provision

A local action group has said it will appeal Cork County Council's granting of planning permission for a 4,300-animal industrial piggery in Ballymacoda, East Cork.

Derra Farms Ltd has been granted permission to demolish an existing piggery and increase the same site from its current 1,000 “finisher” pigs to 4,224-4,500 finishers, which will double the output of pig slurry to 7m litres a year.

A new environmental group formed to opposed the plans, Power (Protection of Water, Environment and Residents) Group, will appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála.

More than 3,350 people signed an online petition against the development and there were 222 submissions objecting to the planning application on grounds including foul odours and emissions, animal welfare, and concerns for water quality in rivers and on East Cork beaches.

Pig slurry

It is proposed the increased volume of pig slurry from the piggery will be spread on fields in 18 East Cork townlands, several adjacent to the sea.

“We were shocked on learning of the decision,” Karen O’Donohoe, spokesperson for Power, said, adding the development will bring “zero benefits, but multiple risks and challenges” for East Cork communities.

Local Green party councillor Liam Quaide said the council's decision was a “a major setback for local residents” that would devalue properties and put pressure on local infrastructure,

“For residents who are affected by animal welfare, the presence of this intensive pig-farm, receiving lorry-loads of animals and transporting carcasses of dead animals in their locality, would be particularly distressing,” Mr Quaide said.

Animal carcasses

The planning application includes waste disposal plans for 70 tonnes of animal carcasses a year due to “normal mortality” – 4,224 finisher pigs would be transported off-site for slaughter in West Cork every 12 weeks in an “all-in, all-out” system, meaning almost 17,000 pigs would be transported to and from the piggery each year.

Philip O’Brien, the owner of Derra Farms Ltd, said he was pleased with the result of the planning application and that the new pig unit would have “modern welfare and environmental standards”. 

“It will be an EPA-monitored site and therefore standards will be very high,” Mr O’Brien said. “I am very familiar with the environmental responsibilities and obligations required on this farm.”