19 meat carcasses found non-complaint with EU
A total of 19 of carcasses in meat factories were found to be non-compliant with the EU reference carcass trimming specification, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine told the Dáil.
Replying to questions, he said to date in 2018 there have been 521 inspections across 32 slaughter plants and 44,332 carcasses have been inspected. Under legislation and SI 363/2010, non-compliance with the carcass trim specification attracts a maximum on the spot fine of €200 per carcass, he said.
“Carcass classification and carcass presentation controls in slaughter plants are carried out by a dedicated team of specialist staff in the beef carcass classification section within my Department,” he said. “Additional monitoring of carcass presentation by my Department’s veterinary public health inspection staff is currently being rolled out. This will provide further assurance to stakeholders that the appropriate dressing specification is being applied.
“These staff will provide a supporting role for the beef carcass classification staff. Upskilling of my Department’s veterinary public health inspection staff has occurred at regional seminars and local training of officers is being provided. Furthermore, information seminars were held for both industry and farm representative bodies regarding the enhanced controls.”
As part of ongoing dialogue with the industry both within the beef forum and directly with Meat Industry Ireland, the Minister said he stressed the need for positive engagement between suppliers and processors and he understood that Meat Industry Ireland has accepted that no individual farmer should be at a loss from a mistake made in a factory in the application of carcass dressing procedures.
By Tim Ryan
operations in the south, Sinn Féin Deputy Pat Buckley told the Dáil.
“My view is that communications are at the heart of this issue and that the possibility of losing 200 jobs just after Christmas in Cork unquestionably matters,” he said. “In recent months we have seen the closure of many rural post offices, pubs and Garda stations which has left rural communities feeling very isolated. On many occasions I have raised in this House the issue of rural depopulation. Now there is the possibility of urban depopulation as the next phase. Surely we cannot allow that to happen.”
Surely after it has turned the corner and given that it is now profitable, we are trying to fix something that is no longer broken, said Deputy Buckley. “The fear is that a decision will be made to close this regional mail centre which will leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of loyal employees and their families for a long time. They are taxpayers and also voters in every constituency in County Cork. They have worked in tandem with An Post, with very modest wage increases in the last decade. They now face the possibility of the closure of the only regional mail centre in Cork.”
In reply, Minister Richard Bruton said some time ago, when An Post was in discussions in the Labour Court with the unions, it confirmed that, as part of its restructuring, one of its mail centres would close in 2019. “However, it has been confirmed in the House previously that no decision has been made on which centre will close,” he said. “Consideration of this issue is still ongoing. It will be a decision for the board and management of the company. It is a commercial company with a mandate to deliver postal delivery services and a viable post office and mail centre network.”