Pig producers hold ‘constructive’ meeting with Tyrone company

A delegation of pig producers from County Cavan accompanied representatives of the Cookstown based Vion pig processing plant to a meeting on Monday with the North's Minister for Agriculture Michelle Gildernew. The delegation had sought the meeting in Stormont to address a number of issues of concern to pig producers south of the border who deliver their pigs for processing to the Cookstown plant. Among the issues raised with Minister Gildernew and several of her Department officials were the extension of the ‘pigisis' system to producers south of the border, the case for full Irish pigmeat labelling for pigs bred and reared in these counties and transferred to the Vion plant for processing and the issue of local vet as against State vet inspection/certification of pigs prior to transfer north of the border. The Cavan pig producers who use the Cookstown processing facility were represented by Oliver Leddy and Brendan Kiernan. The Vion plant was represented by Robin Irwin. The meeting was organised by Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, who described it as “businesslike and constructiveâ€. He confirmed that his party colleague, Minister Gildernew and her officials were pursuing each of the points through the appropriate channels, including with Bord Bia and the Republic's Department of Agriculture.