A MEAT export company yesterday won a long running High Court action against the Minister for Agriculture over the operation of EU beef schemes.
Mr Justice Barr will hear submissions next Friday as to the assessment of damages in favour of HMIL, formerly Hibernia Meats International Ltd, which has registered offices in Sallins, Co Kildare.
Hibernia entered into Aids to Private Storage (APS) and export refund contracts with the Minister in respect of approximately 13,000 tonnes of de boned beef in the 1988 season. It obtained from the Minister some £5.3 million in APS and £16.2 million in export refunds.
In 1989 the Minister's agents carried out a major sampling of Hibernia's products in storage for which payments had been made.
The financial consequences were the disallowance of £241,000 in APS aid and £1.13 million in export refunds, including a 20 per cent advance payment premium. The company was requested to pay more than £1.5 million by June 1991.
Mr Justice Barr said he was not satisfied that the sampling exercise revealed any measurable fault which would require financial correction as to APS and/or export refunds received by Hibernia.
The judge said he found the system for financial corrections adopted by the Minister to be "grievously flawed in many respects and in my view had no prospect of acceptance as a lawful system". The system amounted to a negligent exercise of power, and Hibernia was entitled to compensation.
The judge said: "I am satisfied that the Minister's system for financial corrections was fund a mentally flawed in so many respects that in my view the system in its entirety ought to be condemned."
Mr Justice Barr recalled that the Minister's senior officials were aware of the legal frailty of the financial corrections system they were obliged by the European Commission to adopt largely against their better judgment. But it was adopted and had been condemned by this court as they feared it would be.
The judge said the Minister, in pursuing a system which his own departmental secretary perceived to be fundamentally flawed, was negligent and in breach of duty in failing to devise and operate with reasonable care and skill a fair system of financial corrections arising from the sampling of Hibernia's product.
He was satisfied the infringements in question were, at worst technical in nature. Those relating to "scraps" and non individually wrapped pieces of meat accorded with widespread practice in the international meat export industry.
The Minister's officials found all product examined by them to be up to contract in terms of quality, quantity and weight and to the advantage of the foreign purchasers.