Meat from all horses slaughtered at the country's only equine abattoir this month is to be destroyed because of concerns of food fraud, a court hearing in Limerick has heard.
Judge Patricia Harney heard evidence that officers from the Department of Agriculture felt the meat from Shannonside Foods Ltd in Straffan, Co Kildare did not meet the minimum legal standard for food safety.
The court was hearing an appeal by Shannonside Foods Ltd against an order by a department to destroy 65 carcasses of horses that were slaughtered at the facility earlier this month.
The court was told that the food chain information for the animals was inaccurate, inconsistent and misleading.
Superintendent veterinary inspector Ann Quinn told the court the department had "grave concerns" in relation to the traceability of the animals and accuracy of the information presented on the horses.
She said the operator of Shannonside Foods Ltd, John Joe Fitzpatrick, was the subject of compliance notices after he was discovered with a "large number of equine passports with no matching equines and horses with no identification" at his own holding in O'Briensbridge, Co Clare.
She said that the slaughterhouse documents on the food chain status of the horses were created by Shannonside Foods Ltd retrospectively after the kill.
Arising from these, the department had no confidence in the veracity of the documents.
She said the department had ongoing investigations in relation to "very significant animal health and welfare breaches".
She said the department was liaising with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and one other European Union member state in relation to significant "food safety and food fraud issues".
She said this was in relation to "all equines slaughtered and that entered the food chain over an extended period of time back to January 1, 2023".
Judge Harney said she had to balance the public health against the private interests of the business when she found against Shannonside Foods Ltd.
Solicitors for Shannonside Foods Ltd said the value of the meat that would be destroyed was €80,000.
They said the department's move was a "knee-jerk reaction" to "save face because of ongoing embarrassment" in terms of public opinion arising out of last week's publicity in the national media.
Ms Quinn said the department refuted this.
Last week Shannonside Foods Ltd featured in an RTÉ Investigates documentary.
The court was told the company's animal welfare officer had informed the department earlier this month that three horses had died in the holding facility nearby.
Ms Quinn said the handling of this had prompted concerns as to whether Mr Fitzpatrick and his father, John Joe Fitzpatrick, understood their responsibilities as food chain operators.
Shannonside Foods Ltd has a licence to run Ireland's only equine slaughterhouse at a facility in Straffan, Co Kildare.
However, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue fully suspended operations at the plant last weekend following matters that came to light in the RTÉ Investigates documentary last week.
In relation to the farmland adjacent to Shannonside Foods Ltd, the department said it was restricted on 5 June and animals discovered on the property were in "very poor condition", they were thin and unfit to be transported.
The court was told that due to poor quality fencing, three horses died attempting to break through the fencing.
A solicitor for Shannonside Foods Ltd told the court the department vet on site on 5 June did not have issues with the horses being slaughtered.
