State to sue Goodman plants on irregularities found by beef tribunal

The Government is to sue three companies in the Goodman Group for an unspecified sum arising from meat irregularities uncovered during the beef tribunal.

However, it is not taking any action against the Goodman Group to recover £70 million in fines imposed by the EU Commission for irregularities in the beef intervention system. The European Court of Justice delivered judgment in favour of the Commission in respect of the fines last Thursday.

The confirmation of the Government decision to serve legal proceedings on the Goodman plant in Ardee, Co Louth, at 4 p.m. yesterday and two other companies followed a day of confusion between the junior Minister for Agriculture, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, and the Taoiseach's Department over what had actually been decided at yesterday's Cabinet meeting.

In the absence of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, who is in Tehran, Mr O'Keeffe told the Dail at Question Time that on the best legal advice available to the Government in 1996 there was no route to recover the £70 million. The advice had come to a review group in the Attorney General's Office and the Departments of Agriculture and Finance.

In a dispute following Mr O'Keeffe's statement, the Democratic Left spokesman, Mr Pat Rabbitte, was asked to leave the Dail this morning. The Taoiseach's Department later told journalists the Cabinet had decided to take action to recoup some of the £70 million from the Goodman companies, despite the legal advice offered by the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Agriculture.

It was later agreed by the Departments of the Taoiseach and Agriculture that a mix-up had arisen over the decision taken at yesterday's meeting. The question of attempting to recoup some of the £70 million was not contained in the aide-memoire circulated to the Cabinet. That matter had been closed in 1996.

The Cabinet did give the go-ahead yesterday for civil proceedings to be served on three Goodman Group plants.

The State had appealed the EU Commission's decision to disallow £50.24 million of intervention beef expenditure in 1990 and 1991 in respect of the control system for intervention beef; and £18.47 million of the intervention beef expenditure in 1992 in respect of tendering procedures for beef purchased into intervention. The European Court of Justice turned down the appeal on October 1st.