Athenry Mart’s licence was suspended on Friday 22 April due to a breach of licence conditions relating to COVID-19, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal.

The Department is in contact with mart management to “progress matters,” a spokesperson for the Department said.

“The licence issued to Athenry Mart was suspended on the 22 April. This was due to a breach of a licence condition related to COVID-19 safety procedure.

“Department officials are in contact with management at the mart in order to progress matters.

“Any mart that is currently trading has had its Level 5 COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOPs) approved by Department officials.

“Each mart is subject to ongoing inspections to monitor compliance with Level 5 COVID-19 SOPs; breaches may lead to the suspension of the mart licence,” the spokesperson said.

No other marts have currently had their licence suspended.