Following a day of protests at beef plants around the country the IFA tonight said they would continue to fight against new charges for veterinary inspections at meat factories. However this evening, one of the plants Kepac in Clonee, County Meath, was granted a High Court injunction to stop the picket. Around 20 demonstrations took place today and Gardaí were on duty at meat plants around the country this morning. However, no arrests were made.
The Department of Agriculture has said that there is no justification for the factories to increase their slaughter fees to farmers. The Farmers Association placed pickets at 7am this morning at all the major meat processing plants around the country. Farmers blocked the entrances and prevented traffic from entering the premises, including livestock lorries. The increased veterinary charges came into force yesterday.
A new charge of £5.50 is being charged on all cattle and sheep inspected. That is an increase of £1.80 per animal, or £4m extra a year. The inspections are carried out by vets hired by the Department of Agriculture and are crucially important especially in the new era of food safety. The Department says the factories are not justified in imposing a flat charge of £5.50 because the level of costs varies from plant to plant. They also say that the decision to recover the full cost of inspection fees is a Government decision. However, John Smith of the Meat Processors said that the Department is not justified in increasing fees for an inefficient service. The IFA leader Tom Parlon said that he hopes to take legal action against the increase soon.
