Glanbia has said it will make a decision as "quickly as possible" on the future of its pig processing plant in Edenderry, Co Offaly, which was badly damaged in a fire yesterday, as well as the future of the 280 workers who have been put on protective notice.
Jim Hanley, chief executive of Glanbia Meats, told a press conference yesterday that extensive damage had been caused from the end of the production lines to the dispatch area.
"We are looking at ways and means about how we get people back into employment as quickly as possible," he said.
He said that although they did not know the full extent of the damage, it "is our clear plan to reinstate" the plant.
"We, as a company, have in excess of 50 per cent of the market and it is our intention to maintain that, and without this plant this would be very difficult to do," he added.
He said that was the best commitment he could give at this time to the staff, 40 per cent of whom are foreign nationals.
Mr Hanley would not say if the plant was a commercially viable one in the Glanbia group, which controls more than 52 per cent of the national pig kill and processes several thousand animals in Edenderry each week.
Locals are worried that their plant might not be rebuilt, as was the case with the Glanbia plant in Rooskey, Co Roscommon, five years ago. It was not rebuilt despite assurances that it would be.
Edenderry Town Council will hold an emergency meeting tonight, and one of its members, Cllr John Quinlan, said he was extremely concerned about the future as this was the sole industry in the town. "Let us put this in perspective. There are only 45 jobs at risk because of the Aer Lingus move from Shannon. There are 280 jobs here and we have nothing else if this goes," he said.
Local publican Patrick Larkin said the continuation of the plant in Edenderry was vital for the local economy as the workers spent their money in the area and the town would take an economic hit if the plant was not rebuilt.
Early visitors to the plant yesterday were Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Pádraig Walshe and Michael Maguire of the association's national pigs and pigmeat committee.
Mr Walshe said pig suppliers were very concerned about the consequences of the fire at the plant, which accounts for 20 per cent of the national output.
Mr Maguire said the IFA was discussing detailed contingency plans with Glanbia to avoid a backlog of pigs for slaughter, which would be very serious for producers who are already operating under tight margins.
He said the fire illustrated the risks of depending on highly concentrated processing capacity in the pigmeat sector.
Mr Walshe emphasised that pig suppliers want to see the plant rebuilt and back in production as soon as possible.
The fire alert was raised shortly before 4am yesterday by security staff and was fought by units of the Fire Brigade from Edenderry and Tullamore. No one was injured in the fire and forensic tests are being carried out to determine its cause.