Natasha Newsome Drennan Questions Refrigerator Truck Meat Claims

So, I suppose just bear with me for a second, so farmers are, you know, whoever bring cattle to the processor plant, their jeeps, their trailers, whatever, and the meat is processed and it goes back out on a refrigerator truck, correct? Where? Goes back, gets loaded onto a refrigerator truck and goes out to wherever it's going. It's packed and whatever. So, am I right in saying that refrigerator trucks come back into the factory? That they bring meat into the processing factory? The refrigerator trucks? Yeah. I wouldn't have thought so, no, but like, they come into cattle transport. Well, what I'm told is that refrigerator trucks are coming in, loaded up, they're being unloaded, and they're being loaded back up again and back out. With what? What are they coming in with? Meat. No, that's completely... You're telling me this is not happening? That is completely wrong. Because I'm told that this is happening in plants. No, what may happen, and what may confuse this, is in certain, within companies, companies that have multiple facilities, they may slaughter animals and dress them into quarters. In other words, they don't de-bone in the plant within which they slaughter. Instead, they will put the carcasses on a truck and they'll send it to one of their own plants, and that's all permitted, and it's all done under the control of the department, the veterinary staff in the department. Because they have de-boning capacity greater than what they require in that second plant. So that would be... And what they do is they move it to that second plant, they have consolidated their boning, and they're more efficient in their production. It's processed and brought back out again. But that's all that is. So if people are seeing something else in that, they're completely wrong. Okay, okay. I'm also hearing that there is a mad rush on a Friday evening to go around and collect up meat, and I suppose if they're in such a hurry to get the meat onto the boat on a Friday evening, and we're saying that our exports are down, I suppose a lot of them are kind of wondering, why am I driving all over the countryside collecting meat to bring it back out if we're such a decline in exports? Because they're not seeing it, and these are the truck drivers that I'm speaking to. And then I'm wondering, when those trucks go out, wherever they go to whatever country, are they coming back empty, or are they bringing back meat? Like is there, I suppose, are they consolidating the costs of driving out there, and rather than driving back empty, they're bringing back more meat when they're coming back? Well I'd say, Deputy, the Friday evening is a very busy period, you know, for any meat processor, because they are, you know, pushing out to meet the weekend demand. So it's Thursday and Friday evening are the two busiest evenings of the week in terms of meat processing. So, you know, the volumes are still going out, they're just reduced, you know, from what they were. In terms of what comes back on those trucks, that would be a matter for the hauliers. I wouldn't be 100% clear, I suspect any haulier involved is going to try and be as efficient as possible in terms of backloads. No, just on that, I suppose. They're certainly not bringing back meat. Okay, well on that, we'll talk about Poland, right. So, and I know this because it was a friend of a Polish man, and a truck, he asked for a break for the weekend. His friend was coming over from Poland with a truck, Polish truck, full of meat. It was coming in on a Friday evening, and it was being processed, and it was back out on a Sunday. Stamped and labelled in Ireland and everything, and gone out. Now I don't know if it was born to be stamped, but it was processed in Ireland and back out. Have you heard of that happening? Is it still happening? I can't imagine, in any circumstances, something like that happening, given the fact... Well, this did happen. Well, fine, if you say so, I'm not going to disbelieve what you're saying, but I could not imagine, and we wouldn't know about what would happen in any event in that situation. I don't think that would be reasonable for such a thing. I don't think anybody's going to give me a straight answer on this, anyway. I am giving you a straight answer. I don't know anything about such an incident having occurred, or how could I? But if that's coming back from a third... Well, it's a European country we're talking about. If that's going back into an Irish processing plant, that is controlled by the Department of Agriculture or Veterinary Staff, and if there's any illegal element to that, which may be asserted by the question, then that will be dealt with by the Department. But I can't imagine it happening, because the Department are there from the day a plant... from the morning the plant opens at 7 o'clock before animals go into the lairage, to the last light goes out as a vet wants. So, in general, then, do factories work a seven day a week, or what way is the story there? Well, you're talking about the weekend, are you? Yeah, they work weekends. They work weekends when there's an overtime agreement with the veterinary staff, and when there's a necessity, obviously. Okay, so it would never... I wouldn't think it would be happening at the moment, given the volumes, no. I can't imagine. Okay, well, no, it's just that it's come to my attention that there is a lot of cars in car parks, so wondering why would the cars be there if they were there at the weekend if things were on a go-slow, I suppose? No, there could be maintenance going on on the weekends. Not that many cars for maintenance, I wouldn't think so. I don't know, because I don't know the incident. No, I'm just bringing it to your attention, just like if anybody knows, and I suppose on that, then, with Bordbia, Bordbia conducts audits of processor members such as those under the Meat Processor Quality Assurance Scheme. Are they announced or not announced? Well, Bordbia audits, to be honest with you, I don't know. Well, I'm just thinking, like we'd say with Hickwell going into person homes, you get some announced and you get some unannounced. I'm wondering what is the percentage of, like, we'll just say one plant, would it only be if there was a question of something going underhanded? It's all to do with manufacturers. Sorry, are you talking about plants in particular? Stop one moment. Our focus is on the numbers going through the volume and the price. And that's what they're briefed to comment on. Okay, anyway, we'll go on the price then, we'll go back to the price, because I won't get an answer on the Bordbia because they should be unannounced, by right, because by being announced you don't get the same level of, I suppose, transparency. And I suppose I can't ask a question on the Food Safety Authorities then either, can I? It's not today's brief, but if you wish it can be communicated to them. I need to move on to Deputy Lawless. Sorry, just one more thing on the offal. I need to get to Deputy Lawless.