The controversial EU cattle destruction scheme ran into more difficulty yesterday when the only plant licensed to render the specified risk material (SRM) from cattle announced it could take no more material.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development confirmed that it was making arrangements last night to blast-freeze the material and put it in cold storage until it could be dealt with.
"This will increase the cost of the scheme, and there is a need for more plants to be licensed to deal with the SRMs. We understand that draft licences have been issued by the Environmental Protection Agency to two plants," a Department spokesman said.
The EPA said yesterday it had issued what it called "draft licences" to two companies, Munster Proteins, Waterford, and Premier Proteins, Ballinasloe, to process SRMs. This is the first step in the licensing process.
Monery Products in Cavan, which holds the sole licence to render skulls, brains, spinal cords and intestines from cattle, the so-called specified risk materials, said it could not accept any more SRM. A spokesman for the company said that last week it had taken twice as much material from the industry as it normally did. He said it was licensed to handle only 1,000 tonnes a week and had to work within the terms of licence.
The company has informed the Department of the decision, and the spokesman said it probably would be next week before the company could accept any more material for processing.
The SRM material has trebled in weight since December with the insistence of the EU that the entire intestine be included. The Department has refused plants permission to use plastic-lined cardboard boxes to hold the offal.
The destruction scheme did, however, go ahead in six plants in the State yesterday with 1,399 animals slaughtered. It is not known how many plants will operate today because of the SRM build-up.
The extent of the overhang of cattle in the market was quantified yesterday by the chief executive of the Irish Food Board, Mr Michael Duffy, who said Ireland could expect its exports to decline by 20 per cent this year.
Consumption of beef in key markets had fallen. France had dropped by 30 per cent and Italy by 40 per cent. Germany had dropped by 45 per cent and Spain by 35 per cent.
He said he expected about 300,000 animals would be removed in Ireland in the Purchase for Destruction Scheme, which he described as a market support measure.
But, he said, consumption had held up well in the core markets of the UK and the Netherlands, which were not badly hit by the crisis and continued to buy Irish products.
"Our concentration will be on the high levels of controls in Ireland because while other countries may now have BSE, nothing has changed in Ireland. In Europe we will continue to concentrate on the core markets in the UK, Netherlands, France and Italy," he said. In another development yesterday, 15 members of the Irish Cattle Traders' and Stock owners' Association occupied the lobby of the Department of Agriculture in Kildare Street, Dublin, seeking compensation for farmers who sold stock before the destruction scheme was put in place last week.