The total number of licences issued under the Abattoirs Act, 1988, to low capacity abattoirs was 308 in 1997, 264 in 1998 and 93 to date this year. A detailed breakdown by county for those years will be circulated in the Official Report. As regards licences issued to abattoirs in excess of 1,000 livestock units and not more than 1,500 units annually, two licences were issued in 1997 and 1998 and one in 1999. Export approval was issued to seven largescale slaughtering plants in 1997 and to nine in 1998. No approvals have been issued to date in 1999.
Two prosecutions were taken against low capacity abattoirs in both 1997 and 1998. Since 1997 a total of seven amendments were made to the Abattoirs Act, 1988. Details of these amendments and of the reasons behind them will also be circulated.
The number of licences issued under the Abattoirs Act, 1988, per county is as follows:
|
County
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999(to date)
|
|
Carlow
|
5
|
5
|
–
|
|
Cavan
|
15
|
9
|
3
|
|
Clare
|
13
|
9
|
–
|
|
Cork
|
36
|
40
|
23
|
|
Donegal
|
12
|
6
|
2
|
|
Dublin (County)
|
3
|
1
|
–
|
|
Galway
|
23
|
24
|
4
|
|
Kerry
|
27
|
22
|
3
|
|
Kildare
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
|
Kilkenny
|
14
|
5
|
3
|
|
Laois
|
9
|
12
|
–
|
|
Leitrim
|
11
|
10
|
1
|
|
Limerick
|
16
|
7
|
11
|
|
Longford
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
|
Louth
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
|
Mayo
|
11
|
16
|
9
|
|
Meath
|
7
|
7
|
–
|
|
Monaghan
|
6
|
8
|
2
|
|
Offaly
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
|
Roscommon
|
9
|
15
|
4
|
|
Sligo
|
2
|
3
|
–
|
|
Tipperary N.R.
|
10
|
6
|
–
|
|
Tipperary S.R.
|
21
|
15
|
10
|
|
Waterford City
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
|
Waterford County
|
5
|
5
|
–
|
|
Westmeath
|
23
|
18
|
7
|
|
Wexford
|
9
|
4
|
3
|
|
Wicklow
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
|
Totals
|
308
|
264
|
93
|
