Department challenged by Goodman over actions

After an angry statement from Mr Larry Goodman last night the Department of Agriculture has reiterated that it is proceeding "in a straight line" against Goodman companies arising from the findings of the beef tribunal.

The Department's spokesman, however, would make no comment on the statement from Mr Larry Goodman's Anglo-Irish Beef Processors. The Goodman statement deplored what it described as efforts "to use the company as a scapegoat" at the Dail's Committee of Public Accounts.

The AIBP statement alleged that in singling out seven Goodman companies for a civil action because they returned only a 68 per cent beef intervention yield, the Department ignored the findings of the beef tribunal that from 1983 to 1991 the other 50 meat processors returned similar yields. Yet the Department was not suing these companies.

Claiming that neither the Goodman companies nor the other 50 processors breached their deboning contracts, the statement said it was for this reason the Department did not institute proceedings against the other meat companies. It also explained why the Department's own legal advice was that the claim against the Goodman companies should be dropped, AIBP added.

Signalling an inside knowledge of Department affairs, the statement continued that this was evidenced by the Department's delay in serving the summons against the Goodman companies.

"The summonses were issued on 7th October, 1997, but were withheld for a full year and served on the afternoon of October 6th, 1998, just hours before their expiry. We understand that the Department's view was overruled by the Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney", AIBP said.

A spokesman for Ms Harney declined to comment on Mr Goodman's statement last night. AIBP claimed that Mr Desmond O'Malley was being "disingenuous" in stating that the existence of these summonses was new information revealed to the Dail Committee. The Taoiseach had announced the matter in the Dail in October.

Three months had passed and the Department had not served its claim. "This delay allows them to continue to use it for PR purposes whilst denying AIBP the opportunity to clear its name in a court of law," AIBP said. Government sources have responded that the statement of claim would be finalised within a couple of weeks.

On the Rathkeale plant, the statement said the beef tribunal report found that neither AIBP's meat division management at Rathkeale nor head office management in Ardee was aware of the misappropriation at that plant.

Stating that it did accept financial responsibility for the misappropriation of beef and that it would reimburse the Department for the appropriate loss, AIBP added that efforts were made to agree the loss without the need for a court hearing. The Department's delay in progressing a court hearing had allowed it to vastly overstate the actual losses while denying AIBP the opportunity to have it quantified and paid.

The Goodman group asked Mr O'Malley to ensure the Department "does not backslide" on its commitment to bring the cases to trial during 1999.