Monaghan Poultry Products says it could be some weeks before its plant is ready to reopen. It is expected to seek State aid to upgrade equipment to meet the health and safety requirements of the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Investment of at least £750,000 is needed to upgrade the chilling area and keep the carcasses of slaughtered chickens at the required temperature of 4. Its 300-strong workforce is currently laid off and 50 farmers are seeking alternative outlets for the 180,000 chickens and 200,000 eggs produced each week.
SIPTU branch secretary Mr Jim Mullary said last night he welcomed commitments from the company that it was prepared "to work at getting the plant back to a position where the licence will be restored. If it's a question of financial assistance, we would take the view that State agencies and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment should sit down with the company and SIPTU and see what can be done to secure the future of the 300 employees."
He estimated there were another 150 jobs in north Monaghan dependent on the chicken processing plant. The secretary of the IFA's national poultry committee, Mr Ned Walsh, said growers, who produce the day old chicks and breeders, and bring them to maturity, cannot wait several weeks. He said some farmers may go out of business in the short term.
Company management met Department officials in Dublin yesterday and agreed to draw up plans to meet criteria for the licence to be restored. A Department spokesman ruled out any financial assistance.
The company's financial director, Ms Breda O'Driscoll, who was at the meeting, said it could be "a few weeks" before the plant reopened. She said the company would "leave no stone unturned" to obtain government aid.