A whistle-blower has come forward with a leaked report indicating that up to €4m of taxpayer money could be wasted on meat factory vets every year.
The report written in 2008, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, outlined how the Department of Agriculture had spent up to €6m training auxiliary staff (€25,000/officer) to carry out post-mortem inspections, but continued to employ temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs) to carry out the same function at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
“The review team is recommending re-assignment of a number of trained auxiliaries to online meat inspection duties with consequent reduction in TVI costs,” the report states.
The whistle-blower, who is also one of the authors of the report, told the Irish Farmers Journal he believes the report was never published because “the Department was concerned over possible push back by the vets”.
The strength of the vets’ power in factories was evident earlier this year, when a dispute between the Department and TVIs caused major disruption to factories.
It was only settled when TVIs’ pay was increased to just under €75/hr for factory work and a moratorium on hiring TVIs was lifted.
At the time of the Department report in 2008, it estimated that the Department would spend €2m on TVI overtime that year. Many of the tasks carried out by TVIs in the Republic are undertaken by trained non-veterinary companies in NI plants at a much lower hourly rate.
Last year, €14m was spent on Veterinary Public Health Inspection Services (VPHIS), including TVIs, a figure which had increased annually since 2016. Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed also confirmed that the budget for TVIs would be increased by €2.8m in 2019.
He said one of the main factors for the overall VPHIS costs was the ante- and post-mortem services carried out by TVIs, as required under regulation 854/2004. However, the leaked report references the same regulation, and recommends “technical staff trained to the standard of red meat Official Auxiliary within the terms of regulation 854/2004 be reassigned to assist veterinary inspectors, with official controls in place of TVIs”.
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A whistle-blower has come forward with a leaked report indicating that up to €4m of taxpayer money could be wasted on meat factory vets every year.
The report written in 2008, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, outlined how the Department of Agriculture had spent up to €6m training auxiliary staff (€25,000/officer) to carry out post-mortem inspections, but continued to employ temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs) to carry out the same function at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
“The review team is recommending re-assignment of a number of trained auxiliaries to online meat inspection duties with consequent reduction in TVI costs,” the report states.
The whistle-blower, who is also one of the authors of the report, told the Irish Farmers Journal he believes the report was never published because “the Department was concerned over possible push back by the vets”.
The strength of the vets’ power in factories was evident earlier this year, when a dispute between the Department and TVIs caused major disruption to factories.
It was only settled when TVIs’ pay was increased to just under €75/hr for factory work and a moratorium on hiring TVIs was lifted.
At the time of the Department report in 2008, it estimated that the Department would spend €2m on TVI overtime that year. Many of the tasks carried out by TVIs in the Republic are undertaken by trained non-veterinary companies in NI plants at a much lower hourly rate.
Last year, €14m was spent on Veterinary Public Health Inspection Services (VPHIS), including TVIs, a figure which had increased annually since 2016. Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed also confirmed that the budget for TVIs would be increased by €2.8m in 2019.
He said one of the main factors for the overall VPHIS costs was the ante- and post-mortem services carried out by TVIs, as required under regulation 854/2004. However, the leaked report references the same regulation, and recommends “technical staff trained to the standard of red meat Official Auxiliary within the terms of regulation 854/2004 be reassigned to assist veterinary inspectors, with official controls in place of TVIs”.
Read more
Vet practice ownership ‘bears no influence’ on services
Veterinary Ireland members accept deal that ends recruitment moratorium
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