Six Romanian men who were discovered working in a Monaghan town poultry factory using forged papers portraying them to be legal Portuguese workers are to be questioned by officials of the Department of Social Welfare and the North Eastern Health Board.
The six were reported to management by a SIPTU shop steward employed in the factory on Wednesday. He had noticed the men queuing in a local welfare office.
When initially questioned by officials, the six said they had bought the forged documents in Dublin for £100 each.
About 200 foreign workers are employed legally in Co Monaghan, which is the State's main poultry producing area. Kerry Coop owns Grove Farm Turkeys in Smithborough and periodically employs 50 to 60 Portuguese workers. In north Monaghan the Silverhill Duck Farm in Emyvale currently employs Eastern European workers, mostly Polish and Latvian.
In the case of these six men, the SIPTU representative stressed that as soon as he informed management it immediately took appropriate action by contacting the proper authorities and withholding any money due to the men until the matter was resolved.