Protests at meat plants to continue this week

PROTESTS outside meat plants organised by the Beef Plan Movement (BPM) are set to ‘continue indefinitely’ unless the meat industry commits to increasing cattle prices to farmers, the Galway BPM Chair vowed this week.

Kevin O’Brien has asked farmers across Galway to join in the protests that began on Monday morning last and that are continuing on a ‘24/7’ basis since then.

“This is a protest that will not go away and it will continue until we get a commitment from Meat Industry Ireland (MII) that they will significantly improve the price that’s being paid to farmers for their cattle,” said Kevin O’Brien.

In the Galway/Mayo region, the Beef Plan Movement protest began at 6am on Monday at three meat processing plants – Kepak, Athleague; Dawn Meats, Ballyhaunis and Liffey Meats in Ballinasloe.

According to Kevin O’Brien, farmers who were getting €4.20c per kg. for heifers in June, 2018 were now being paid only €3.60c per kg. for similar animals last week.

“This equates to a loss of €250 per animal over a period of just 13 months. These are losses that cattle and beef farmers just cannot sustain,” said Kevin O’Brien.

For full story see this week’s Connacht Tribune.