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For the first time in recent memory, the country’s farm organisations have united on a single issue.
The IFA, the ICSA, the ICMSA, Macra na Feirme and the INHFA all stood together in Sligo over the potential closure of the Department of Agriculture Regional Veterinary Lab (RVL).
As exclusively revealed by the Irish Farmers Journal last month, a major review of the RVL structure is under way.
The review was headed by Professor Alan Reilly, the former chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and he presented his findings just before Christmas.
One of the recommendations from the report is to, in time, close Limerick, Sligo and Kilkenny RVLs, with an upgrading of the facilities at the other three labs. Another recommendation is to close all bar Backweston, Co Kildare, and put a fleet of vans on the road to carry out the roles of vets in the various RVLs.
The Sligo lab is the third-busiest in the country, and it carries out some 3,000 post-mortems a year and 30,000 diagnostic tests.
Listen to "Voices from the Sligo vet lab protest" on Spreaker.
Sligo IFA chair JP Cowley told the Irish Farmers Journal at the protest that it is inconceivable for the Department to close the lab in Sligo. The next-closest lab for farmers in the catchment area of Sligo is the lab in Athlone.
“If you’re from Donegal, it would take you a day to get there and back. It’s just not practical for these farmers,” he said.
Some 400 farmers attended the protest in Sligo on Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of protests regarding the RVLs in recent weeks. The ICMSA and the ICSA protested in Limerick last week, with the ICMSA protesting in Kilkenny the week previous.
ICSA Sligo chair Gabriel Gilmartin said all efforts must be made to protect the lab in Sligo.
“This is a health and welfare issue for our national herd. Taking into account the impending Brexit talks, we must do all we can to protect our critical livestock sectors.
"At the very centre of our reputation as a food producing nation is our impeccable traceability standards. This is down in no small part to the regional lab here in Sligo. It simply must be protected. If it were to close it would be another nail in the coffin of the west,” he said.
James Wall from Sligo at the RVL protest on Wednesday. \Brian Farrell
IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy said the Department needs to invest in the labs rather than looking at closing one.
“We should change things for the better, not for the sake of change. And if we need to change things we should invest in the labs and ensure the survival of our agricultural industry.
“In the bad times, agriculture was the only thing that was there. Just because things are improving now people might think that we can forget about it again. That cannot happen.”
The IFA met with officials from the Department before the protest on Wednesday. However, the Irish Farmers Journal understands that the Department gave no commitment concerning the review at that meeting.
It is also understood that no movement in the Department has been made regarding the RVLs since Prof Reilly submitted his report.
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