Irish pig feed farm not inspected recently
The pig feed factory at the centre of December’s dioxin scare was not inspected by the local council since it got its operating licence in 2005, the Irish examiner is reporting.
Although the Millstream plant carried out a self-assessment report on an annual basis, no inspectors were sent in because it was considered low risk. An inspection was scheduled for 2008 under the council’s Environmental Inspection Plan, but this was not carried out due to lack of resources. The plan is currently non-active with the permit is up for renewal in the coming weeks.
The Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture heard yesterday that the Environmental Protection Agency had recommended the council should inspect the plant once a year. Fine Gael agriculture spokesman Michael Creed told the committee: “It is rather an unfortunate coincidence that by early December neither Carlow County Council nor the Department of Agriculture had inspected the premises.”
Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith told the committee retailers would not be entitled to compensation over the recall. He said compensation demands made by Tesco were “a bit rich”. He also said pig processing workers who lost wages would not be getting compensation.
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