Sinn Féin TDs in Donegal have called on Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to intervene in the closure of the Donegal Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) rehabilitation centre.
The animal rehabilitation centre which opened in Ballyare near Ramelton in June 2018 is due to close today, following an ISPCA review of the organisation's operations.
Deputies Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said the closure would be a devastating blow for staff and for animal welfare in the county.
Separately, the trade union Fórsa has also called on the minister to intervene to protect workers.
The ISPCA said that it has faced several serious financial challenges over recent years due to the need to meet an overwhelming crisis in animal cruelty cases, and the pressure on its facilities.
"Naturally, our operations needed to be tailored to meet with ongoing income and earlier this year we carried out a full review of all costs.
"The results of this review illustrated, unfortunately, that it was not financially viable to maintain the facility in Donegal."
Deputy Doherty said Sinn Féin has written to the ISPCA seeking urgent clarity on why concerns about the viability of this centre were not shared earlier with political representatives or made public.
He believes had the issues "been raised in good time, solutions could have been found to avoid this crisis".
"There is an overwhelming crisis in animal cruelty cases. To leave Donegal without the services that the ISPCA provide is unthinkable in this context," he said.
The ISPCA said a reorganisation of its service delivery and facilities has been essential to become more efficient and continue to prioritise the needs of animals nationwide.
A spokesperson for the ISPCA said it "has put in place planned redundancies at the Donegal facility and we will observe all rules and entitlements to staff at this difficult time as we continue our discussions with them".
"It should be noted that this decision was taken by the ISPCA with regard to the immediate viability of our organisation earlier this year.
"A recent announcement of a merger of the ISPCA and the DSPCA relates to the future ongoing viability of services and that merger has no impact on decisions already made by the ISPCA and on which our current financial position is based," they added.
A SIPTU spokesperson said its members believe "forced redundancies has been deliberately orchestrated to deny the workers effected their statutory employment protections provided under transfer of employment regulations 'TUPE’, ahead of a forthcoming merger between the ISPCA and DSPCA".
SIPTU Organiser Peter O’Brien said workers have no clarity on what will happen to the services provided in the Donegal centre.
"They are deeply concerned that the services and the animals they care for will be moved to other parts of the country without the necessary planning," he said.
Mr O’Brien said the action was "completely wrong particularly when it is considered that it is largely funded by the Department of Agriculture and through charitable donations".
SIPTU has confirmed it is prepared to re-enter the Workplace Relations Commission and is calling on the Department of Agriculture to intervene.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said it provides financial supports to eligible animal welfare charities through the Animal Welfare Grants Programme.
Last November, funding of almost €6 million was provided to 101 animal welfare charities including the ISPC and Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).
The department added it is "not involved in the day-to-day running of these charities, or in the recruitment of staff".
"Staff are employed directly by the charities.
"It is therefore at the discretion of these welfare organisations to deploy resources where they deem can have the maximum impact. Accordingly, the Department has no role to play in the current redundancy negotiations," a spokesperson said.
