Local abattoirs will be left in limbo at the end of June if a dispute over funding for local authority vets is not resolved.

Some 173 abattoirs covering over 15% (408,573) of the annual national kill rely on local authority vets to provide regular testing services on slaughtered animals, without which they couldn’t legally operate.

The dispute is between the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), with the FSAI funding local authority vets through the CCMA.

In a letter seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, the CCMA chair Michael Walsh says funding from the food safety watchdog has been cut and they can no longer run the service. “We genuinely regret that this course of action is necessary,” he wrote to the FSAI on 26 May.

In 2019, Tipperary County Council received €292,000, down 11% on the previous year.

Overall, the cost of the service provided by vets is roughly €6m/year.

Industrial action

Fórsa, the union representing most of the 34 local authority vets is to hold a special executive meeting on Thursday 4 June, to initiate a ballot on industrial action.

“We’re deeply disappointed that the employment of the veterinary staff is being used as leverage for funding negotiations,” Peter Nolan of Fórsa trade union said and added that the trade union has asked Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to start arbitration.

The threat to local abattoirs would be potentially devastating, many of whom had reported an increase in the number of people shopping locally during the pandemic.

Clive Clarke of Ashgate Farm, a local Offaly butcher, said the loss of vets could mean the closure of his business.

“It could be catastrophic and no one is talking to us,” he said.

Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill also pointed out that local abattoirs provided an essential service for a domestic supply and called for a halt to any funding cuts.

“The FSAI hopes that the discussions will reach agreement soon, thus permitting continuity for the food businesses that require official controls to be in place for their operation,” the FSAI said.

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