Heavy rainfall and severe flooding have destroyed €40,000 worth of meat in a factory in Longford town and has put the future of 30 jobs in danger.
The flooding occurred overnight on land adjacent to the Louis Hetereich Meat factory plant in the Townspark Industrial Estate.
The owner says the meat was destroyed by water and sewage from a nearby Longford County Council mains pipe that had overflown during heavy rain.
The factory owner, Louis Hetereich, who employs 10 people on site and a further 20 in a number of butcher shops in the area, says his business has been ruined.
He also claims the local fire brigade refused to respond to the flooding this morning because of a new regulation concerning call-outs to reports of flooding.
Longford County Council has said the sewer network that takes effluent from the industrial estate is being infiltrated by the rainwater and causing the system to back-up.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the council says the pump station adjacent to the site is operating at full capacity to decrease the water levels and alleviate the situation.
The council says it expects the levels to drop dramatically by the morning.
