Farmers took to the streets of Kilkenny last week to protest against the potential closure of Department of Agriculture regional veterinary laboratory (RVL).

The protest was organised by the ICMSA. The association’s Kilkenny chair John Robinson spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal and said the protest was useful.

“We went in to make our feelings known about the potential closure of the Kilkenny lab. We had a very fruitful meeting with staff after the protest and we made the point that once you go outside a certain radius from a lab you don’t get the same uptake of farmers sending specimens in to labs.

“One farmer said it’s one thing bringing in a dead calf to the lab, but bringing a 600kg cow to the lab is another. This isn’t just about Kilkenny or the southeast. This is about maintaining the highest protection standards across the whole herd. Our reputation as a food producer demands high standards,” he said.

Robinson said that the association will be taking the fight to the political level and meeting with TDs in the coming weeks.

Background

The Irish Farmers Journal exclusively broke the story last month that a major review of the RVLs was under way.

A working group was tasked with bringing forward recommendations on the future of the labs.

The group reported back to the Department before Christmas. The report can essentially be summarised into three main recommendations.

The first was to keep all six RVLs in Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Backweston, Sligo and Athlone open.

The second was to, in time, close Limerick, Sligo and Kilkenny, with an upgrading of the facilities at the other three labs, while the third was to close all bar Backweston and put vans on the road to carry out the roles of vets in the various RVLs.