Fire damages Glanbia meat plant

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, has asked the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, to immediately establish how soon the Glanbia pig meat factory in Roosky, Co Roscommon, can reopen after a fire destroyed much of the premises yesterday.

The fire, which began in the curing hall of the factory, extensively damaged large areas of the plant, including the boning hall and chilling area.

Production is expected to now switch to Glanbia's other pig meat plants in the Republic at Edenderry, Co Offaly, and Roscrea, Co Tipperary, giving rise to concerns about the future of the 450 jobs at the Roosky plant.

Fire brigades from Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford arrived on the scene shortly after the alarm was raised at 2.30 p.m. and fought to bring the blaze under control.

However, by 5 p.m. there were reports of flames and smoke being visible from Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim, almost 10 miles away.

The company had an emergency evacuation procedure in place and no injuries were reported.

A company spokesman said it was likely that the senior Glanbia management team would assess the damage this morning and would await the outcome of that assessment before formulating plans.

Mr Michael Patten, Glanbia's director of communications, stressed that the factory was fully insured for structural damage as well as any loss of business.

He said the company had two priorities: to get the factory back to full production and to ensure continuity of supply to Glanbia customers.

Mr Patten said it was difficult to predict what arrangements would be in place in the immediate aftermath of the fire, as he was commenting as the fire was still raging. However, he indicated that at least some of the production would switch to Glanbia's other facilities. How much, if anything, could continue at Roosky, pending rebuilding, would be determined this morning.

On the subject of the cost of the damage to the plant, Mr Patten said it could not be adequately estimated, but he indicated that it would run into millions of euro. He was hopeful that various parts of the plant could be back in business speedily, but accepted that there would be disruption.

Glanbia is the biggest employer in the Roosky area and the loss of jobs at the plant would impact heavily on the local economy.

According to a local SIPTU official, Mr Greg Ennis, workers at the factory were "devastated" by the fire. Glanbia had spent more than €2.5 million over the past two years upgrading the plant to achieve a licence to allow it export to the United States.

The Tánaiste, who was campaigning in Co Roscommon when she heard about the fire, said she was "appalled".

She said the plant was a huge employer in the county and any threat to its future would be a major setback.