New protest begins outside meat facility in Ballymahon

A new protest has begun outside a meat processing facility in Ballymahon, Co. Longford.

Kicking off outside the boning hall owned by Kepak in the Co. Longford town last night, Thursday, September 5, a number of farmers assembled to demonstrate outside the premises.

Speaking to AgriLand, one protester noted that the demonstrations kicked off outside the facility at 8:00pm yesterday evening following word that there was a lot of meat at the plant bound for Tesco.

The individual farmer protesters have outlined that “there is no way that they are going to drop it over the weekend”, highlighting that the demonstration will continue until farmers see the outcome of talks scheduled for Monday.

Protesters believe that approximately 14 containers are in the plant at the moment which were being filled as of this morning.

Approximately 40 farmers are currently at the picket line outside the plant. One farmer noted that around 12 lorries were turned away from the facility earlier today.

Beef talks to resume Monday

Yesterday, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, announced that a further round of talks on the beef sector will take place on Monday.

Announcing the move, the minister said: “There has been significant engagement with stakeholders throughout the duration of this dispute and I believe that there is now a basis for the renewal of talks between the parties.”