THE IMPACT trade union said huge savings could be made if the Department of Agriculture used its own staff for factory meat inspections, work currently done by external vets at €78 per hour compared to €16-€25 per hour paid to department staff.
It also rejected a statement attributed to Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith that “industrial relations issues” were preventing the change in the system.
Impact said the department had trained 270 agricultural officers specifically to do the work to standards required by EU regulations.
The union has written to the chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Johnny Brady, saying its members were willing to undertake the inspections duties.
“Indeed, Impact has raised the issue in a number of meetings with the department with a view to their taking on the work with immediate effect. We have been told that the department has taken no position on the issue,” said a letter from union official Tom Hoare.
“It is Impact’s belief that the 270 trained agricultural officers can do the inspection work to the standards required by the EU and expected of the meat-buying public, and that the allocation of the work to them would deliver excellent value for money for the taxpayer,” the letter added.