VET LAB SECURE
Sinn Féin Councillor Chris MacManus has welcomed the remarks of Agriculture Minister Michael Creed that “there are unlikely to be any closures” of any of the six Regional Veterinary Laboratories across the state including the one located at Dunally in County Sligo.
Minister Creed made his comments in a recent interview in The Farmers Journal.
MacManus said: “I want to welcome the comments of Minister Creed in last week’s Farmers Journal, that the soon to be published cost benefit analysis report of the six Regional Vet labs will indicate that there should be no closures.
“There was massive concern not just here in County Sligo but regionally that this essential service at the Regional Vet Lab located in Dunally could be closed.
“Apart from staff losses, any closure would have a significant impact on farming commu- nities in our region.
“The Dunally Regional Vet Lab is an essential part of one of the most important economic sectors throughout the northwest and crucial to speedily detecting animal health issues.
“Proposals that the nearest such facility for northwest famers would be in Athlone, were not feasible.
“We need to commend all those at a local and regional level who raised this issue and outlined the negative impact such a closure would have especially at a time when the government needs to address the issue of regional imbalance.
“Once again, I welcome the Minister’s comments and there are now strong grounds to be optimistic.
“However, we must await the publishing of the report before we can be assured that the Dunally Regional Vet Lab will not be closed.”