I raised this matter because of the concern among farmers and employees of Henshaws meat factory which was closed at Christmas. Limerick city has always been closely associated with the meat business with plants such as Mattersons, Clover Meats and O'Mara's all of which are now closed.
The present meat plant was built in 1973 to facilitate the slaughter of cattle, sheep and pigs. It operated originally as a municipal abattoir. In November 1986, Peter Henshaw, a Dublin man who also had a meat plant in Finglas, north Dublin, acquired the abattoir from Limerick Corporation. For the next six years the company supplied meat to domestic markets.
In 1992, work commenced on a £1.25 million upgrading of the plant and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry approved it for the provision of export beef and lamb. Three EU inspections were carried out since it was first licensed and some deficiencies were noted. A further £750,000 has been spent rectifying these deficiencies. However, despite numerous requests for grants and other assistance, no State funding has been provided. On 6 December 1996, the company was informed by local senior veterinary inspectors that the decisions had been made to withdraw their services from 3 January because the plant did not comply with EU Directive 497.
Despite considerable expenditure and renovations over the last couple of months the abattoir still remains closed. Over the years the work force has increased from 13 in 1986 to its present level of 140 employed in procurement, slaughtering, boning, processing, dispatch, administration, distribution, sales and merchandising. Credit must be given to Henshaws for creating so many jobs in Limerick. The company supplies a range of customers, including Ireland's leading supermarkets, butchers, caterers, local institutions and wholesalers. Its products have been sold in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Japan and sales personnel have been recruited in France and the UK.
The temporary closure of Henshaws means there is no meat factory operating in Limerick. This is not good for competition. As a result of price fluctuations, farmers, especially those involved in beef and winter fattening, depend on competition to get the best prices for their finished produce. The lack of competition due to the closure of Henshaws means that farmers in the Limerick area receive much less for their cattle than they did before Christmas. I warned the Minister that this would happen. The prices obtained since Christmas mean that the slaughtering premium is of no benefit to farmers as they are getting 8p less per pound. I do not know whether the fall in prices is a result of a cartel between the factories but farmers are very frustrated.
In response to this, farmers organised a protest march led by the IFA in Limerick on 29 January 1997. The march was well attended by farmers from Clare and Limerick and some of the Henshaws workers. However, the night before the march, Mr. Henshaw received a telephone call from Michael Miley, programme manager to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Mr. Miley advised Mr. Henshaw that none of his employees should take part in the march. This was a peaceful march, yet the Minister's office was advising people not to take part in it. Three employees of the factory who are friends of mine, one of whom won hurling honours with Limerick, have lost their jobs. It is a sorry day when people are threatened with the loss of their jobs for taking part in a march. It would mean that democracy had gone out the window. Because of this and the magnitude of the problem created by this closure, I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry to immediately reinstate his staff so that the slaughter line will reopen and allow the plant to function properly.
