THE Federation of Irish Renderers will not implement its ban on taking offal from meat plants from today, pending the outcome of today's discussions with the Department of Agriculture.
The discussion on a compensation package should prevent a weekend close down of the meat plants over the issue of the cost of rendering at risk material from animals. This Specified Risk Material (SRM) includes the portions of animals vulnerable to BSE, which must now be processed and destroyed at a single plant in Co Cavan licensed to perform this function.
Both the Federation of Irish Renderers and the knackeries have complained about the costs being levied on them by the plants, and this will be discussed later today.
The renderers will also be seeking full compensation for their loss of export markets after the Department's decision to buy up current stocks of meal and bonemeal until the plants can upgrade their manufacturing facilities to EU standards. The Department is expected to spend between £2 million and £3 million on current meat and bonemeal stocks of around 12,000 tonnes and may have to spend more on future production.
Meanwhile the knackeries, which have been refusing to collect dead animals from farmers since last Friday, are holding a series of regional, meetings to find a solution to their problems. They are still refusing to collect dead animals from farms until the cost of processing material at the Cavan plant drops to what they call "a reasonable level" and their transport costs are taken into account.