Beef factories have been fined 21 times so far this year for excessive carcase trimming, with each transgression resulting in a €200 penalty on the plant.

Farmers have reacted furiously to the news, with IFA president Joe Healy saying that in cases where factories are found to have robbed farmers, they should be named and shamed.

He said: “The fine should be increased, immediately, to the maximum allowable of €5,000. Factories who continue to flout the rules should be prosecuted through the courts, with jail sentences for repeat offenders.”

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This trimming is carried out before carcases are weighed for calculating payment to the farmer who owns the cattle. On Friday, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that breaches of EU trimming rules were discovered in random inspections carried out by Department of Agriculture officials on grading and trim.

The Irish Farmers Journal has asked the Department of Agriculture to identify the factories penalised in 2018 and to reveal if the farmers whose cattle were wrongly trimmed and who had not been fully paid have been informed.

However, at the time of going to print, there was no response from the Department.

In 2017, Department officials carried out 662 inspection visits to Irish beef factories and checked grading and trim on 59,227 carcases.

But following complaints by farmers and lobbying by the IFA, supervision of the factories is now due to be stepped up.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has committed to providing and training up to 150 additional staff to supervise grading and trim at beef plants. IFA livestock chair Angus Woods said: “It is unacceptable that the identities of factories who [may have stolen] from farmers are covered up by the Department ,with the farmers affected not even aware that their cattle have been over-trimmed.”

He said: “Farmers whose carcasses are over-trimmed should be compensated fully by the factories involved and all cases should be published by the Minister for Agriculture for all farmers to see.”