Hundreds of jobs in Northern Ireland could be under threat if pork producers there are not compensated for the contaminated food scare that started in the Republic before last Christmas.
The Managing Director of Cookstown Meats - one of Northern Ireland's largest pork processors - made the claim to the Stormont Agriculture Committee today.
Seamus Carr is calling for a multi-million pound compensation package for the industry and said if the money was not made available 300 or 400 jobs, if not the whole viability of his plant, would be at risk.
He told the Stormont Agriculture Committee that pork producers in Northern Ireland were at a massive disadvantage compared to their competitors in the Republic because a compensation scheme had been introduced here worth £163m (€181m).
