Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the present situation in Northern Ireland bacon factories and meat plants in regard to short-time working and closure; how many jobs have been lost; and how many workers are on short-time as a result of pigs and fat cattle going legally or illegally to Eire.
§ Mr. Merlyn Rees:Since October 1974 there has been a substantial reduction in the supply of pigs to the curing industry in Northern Ireland due both to a decrease in the level of pig production and to the movement of pigs to the Republic of Ireland. As a result, some 330 jobs have been lost in the curing industry and it is estimated that a further 1,330 workers are on short time.
The normal seasonal fall in the number of cattle slaughtered in Northern Ireland meat plants is also being accentuated by the movement of cattle to the Republic of Ireland. This reduction in supplies has resulted in 25 redundancies and some 300 workers on short time