THREE executives of the Shannon Meat plant at Rathkeale, Co Limerick, have pleaded guilty to a fraud in which inferior meat was exported to the former Soviet Union.
Sean Harnett of Castlematrik, Rathkeale Denis Murphy of the Hill, Abbeyfeale, both Co Limerick and Mathew O'Doherty of Shannon Lawn, North Circular Road, Limerick, were remanded on continuing bail to March 28th by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
They admitted conspiring together and with a person or persons unknown to defraud the Minister of Agriculture and Food on dates between July 12th and October 20th 1991, by misappropriating intervention beef and permitting the use of inferior meat in cans of beef exported to the former Soviet Union in 1991 when Harnett was the production manager at the Rathkeale plant, O'Doherty was the general manager and Murphy was the plant accountant.
Defence counsel Mr Patrick MacEntee SC told Judge Gerard Buchanan that half a day would be needed to hear evidence before sentence.
He requested that the sentence hearing be adjourned to a later date.
Det Garda John McCann of the Fraud Squad will give evidence of the offence on the adjourned date.