IFA PROTEST:"SAVE OUR bacon" was the plea from pig farmers protesting outside the Department of Agriculture yesterday to demand that pigmeat processing plants be reopened as soon as possible.
"You can see the anger that is developing among our members," said Tim Cullinan of the Irish Farmers' Association's national pigs committee.
"All our pigs are locked up on our farms and we can't get them to the processing plants. It's a serious situation. Farmers are losing €1 million per day, which is putting livelihoods in jeopardy."
More than 100 farmers and representatives of the industry gathered on Kildare Street in Dublin for the demonstration organised by the IFA.
Members of the association have seen their businesses come to a standstill this week following a recall of all Irish pork products after the discovery of dioxin-like PCBs in pigmeat. The IFA says farmers are incurring severe losses and that supermarket shelf space is being given over to imports while pig stocks grow on farms around the country, even though the majority of Irish pigmeat is perfectly safe for consumption.
"The urgency is that we have 60,000 pigs a week coming up on our farms and if we're not out of this mess by Friday evening we'll have 120,000 pigs waiting to be processed," Mr Cullinan said.
While the demonstration took place, talks between pigmeat processors and the Government were continuing at the Department of Agriculture.
Processors are demanding a multi-million euro package from the Government to help cover the costs of the recall, which they say may run as high as €125 million.
Maireád O'Brien, a pig farmer from Mitchelstown in Co Cork, said all she wanted to do was get back to work. "I'm here today to say that I'm not looking for any compensation. I'm actually looking for a processor with a market," she said.
Ms O'Brien, who normally sells around 1,000 pigs each week, said it was "imperative" the processors and Government come up with a solution that gets the pigmeat market moving again.
"It's like the tap is on and the sink is filling and the water has nowhere to go. I've had pigs ready for sale since last Monday and I have bonamhs being born every minute," she said.
Ms O'Brien's concerns were echoed by Tom Hanrahan, a pig farmer who had travelled from Aherlow in Co Tipperary for the demonstration. "I'm here because I'm concerned for my own welfare and the jobs of the people I employ," he said. "We're here to try and get factories open as quickly as possible and to get our product back on sale because otherwise we die."
Mr Hanrahan said the product recall could not have come at a worse time for the pigmeat industry. "I would say that in December of every year we put about two months product on the market.
"That is partly covering for January, when consumers only take about half the normal amount. January is always difficult, but it looks as if our main harvest time is becoming January, which is a disaster."
