Revenue officials confirmed yesterday it had recovered a six-figure sum from a lamb-processing plant after an investigation into VAT rebates on imported sheep.
It also confirmed that VAT audits are currently being conducted on a number of lamb-processing factories in the State following complaints from sheep farmers that sheep were being imported from the North of Ireland and Britain and slaughtered in the Republic.
While importation is legal, recovering a 3.6 per cent VAT repayment from the State on animals which were not farmed here, is not. The issue was recently highlighted by an RTE report which showed Northern animals being slaughtered at a processing plant.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said he could not understand why meat processors should be importing animals for slaughter, given the record number of animals here and the abundance of good quality animals for sale.
He called for a long-term supply arrangement between farmers and processors to ensure a regular supply and quality of product which would benefit the consumer and the sector itself.
Later today, delegations from the Irish Farmers' Association will visit 18 beef-processing plants to demand an increase in the prices being paid for cattle.