Something to smile about

By Mairead Lavery

In the UK, at least 23 high-street butcher shops close down every month. So serious is the problem that it's led to the launch of a national "save our butchers" week. It's an altogether different story in this country, where the number of craft butcher shops is actually increasing and confidence has returned to the sector.

Pat Brady is chief executive of the Association of Craft Butchers of Ireland (ACBI) and he's a man with something to smile about.

"There's no doubt we've turned a big corner in the past 10 years, and the guys left in the business are survivors. I think a lot of credit for that lies with a Skillnet project we operated over a four-year period from 2001. We ran extensive business development training sessions for our members. It got butchers together and talking to each other. It did huge good for younger butchers; I know people who are in business today because of those courses and who now operate a second shop," he says.

Far from butcher shops closing, Pat Brady says that up to 30 new shops have opened here in the past five years. There's also been significant investment in existing shops.

"Butchers have learnt not to focus on supermarkets. Three years ago they competed with us on price but we more than held our own. Now the supermarkets are trying to compete on skills, but our real strength lies in the skills of our members and the personal touch we offer our customers."

Challenges

So what challenges face the sector today? "Believe it or not, about the only reason a craft butchers shop closes today is because of property values. Good properties on prime sites are worth a fortune," he says.

"Food regulations are a more manageable issue and we have a good relationship with the Food Safety Authority. Risk management is being dealt with in a practical way, and the everyday procedures carried out in butcher shops now would have got you a quality mark 10 years ago."

He says there are some residual BSE controls for cattle over 24 months that butchers must deal with if they buy in carcase beef. "The vertebral column is classified as SRM and the disposal of it is a bit of a pain." The EU has recently agreed to relax that control to 30 months.

Non-Irish

Pat Brady is confident that most beef and lamb sold by his members is Irish. He says Irish, local and under 24 months with full veterinary certification adds up to a very marketable brand.

"Our members are not going to risk buying cheap meat that will lose them customers and get their names in the local paper. Our members recognise that selling Irish product is in their best interest."

He says the real problem with imports, including Brazilian beef, is in the food service sector. "Butchers find it difficult to compete with wholesalers when supplying meat to hotels. The buying decision is down to the chef, and cost is a big factor."

Outlook

Pat Brady is confident about the future for his members. New government funding for capital investment is long overdue and welcomed. In a brand-new project, the ACBI has developed the modules for a National Certificate in Butchery Skills that is externally validated and has FETAC approval.

"We have 82 apprentices in the system and that makes us very confident about the future."

Abattoirs

The decline in the number of abattoirs in this country over the past 20 years has been dramatic. In 1990, there were over 1,000 abattoirs in operation, by 2000 the number had fallen to 430, and today it stands at 245.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has licensing responsibility for abattoirs and, according to Pat Brady, when making decisions it applies food safety criteria and nothing else. "If the premises are safe, that's the final criteria. We find the FSAI helpful and pro-active and that's a far cry from what happened in the past.

"The Department of Agriculture used to issue licences, and in one case I saw a letter where an abattoir was closed because the official thought it was too small. The closure had nothing to do with food safety. Abattoirs were closed without reason, and while there was a need for rationalisation in the sector, what happened wasn't right."

It was no surprise then that Pat Brady warmly welcomed the recent decision by the Department of Agriculture to launch a round of capital investment funding for small abattoirs and processors. "It reverses a policy that forced the closure of many viable and safe businesses, and in doing so deprived local and especially rural communities of the fruits of their own produce."

He says one of the likely outcomes of this funding is that butchers will move their processing facilities to green field sites where they can build on a boning hall and chill facility.

"It makes sense to have these facilities separate from shops. Not every butcher will go this route but for those who do it means they could offer supplies to other butchers in the area. It could lead to a marketing plan based on either local or national branding." J

Factfile

Born: 1950

Family: three children

Education: I studied law in Queens University and was a contemporary of Pat Rabbitte in the Union of Students of Ireland. It was 1968, a time when the Northern Ireland civil rights movement was taking off, and when young people were being radicalised by events far away, including the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa.

I think it was a time when the lives of ordinary people improved, a period of rapid change that has since stopped and even gone backwards.

Career: Worked with SIPTU as National Nursing Official. I also spent five years with the Irish veterinary Union before coming to my present job in 1999.

Hobbies: I'm a good cook and I love every kind of music, especially jazz and classical. I play the piano and guitar and am a decent pub singer.

Reading now: Brothers - The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.