Dunbia will appeal council decision

Meat processor, Dunbia has announced that it will appeal Westmeath County Council's decision not to grant planning permission by way of a material contravention to the county development plan, which would have cleared the way for Dunbia to extend its factory in Kilbeggan. Managing Director of Dunbia (Ireland), Padraig Browne said that the company had thought long and hard about the decision to appeal, and the support they have received locally has driven them to take their application to An Bord Pleanala. Mr Browne said, "Over the past number of weeks we have carefully considered our options for consolidating our business in Ireland. We still believe that Kilbeggan is the most viable site for this consolidation and we feel we must pursue all avenues open to us to progress these plans. "I have received a huge amount of support for the proposed factory development from local farmers, local businesses and from many people living in Kilbeggan. These people want to see investment in the town, job creation and the protection of the jobs currently at the Dunbia factory here. I feel we have a duty to these people and our 208 employees to put our plans forward to An Bord Pleanala" he continued. Commenting on the Council's decision on 25 July to block the development, Mr Browne said, "I was extremely disappointed that a number of Councillors voted against our plans, however, out of 23 Councillors, 16 voted in favour of our development and because of the requirement for a 75% majority, we lost out by only one vote. As this was such a slim margin and the majority of Councillors supported our plans, I feel progressing our application with An Bord Pleanala is the right decision." If Dunbia is successful in gaining planning permission for the development, the €12million investment would bring 80 permanent and 100 short term jobs to the area, retain the existing 208 jobs, add €2.5 million to the local economy through increased wages and will underpin the €100 million annual trade in cattle with local farmers.