Flooding problem at Laois meat processing factory

Staff cutbacks in a Laois town centre meat factory have resulted in flooding problems to businesses next door.

The Dawn Meats factory in Rathdowney has a manmade pond between it and the main street.

The company no longer employs after hours security staff. Part of their duties had been the operation of a sluice gate that allowed excess water to flow away from the site to the nearby river.

A local councillor is now asking Laois County Council to work with the factory to install an automatic sluice gate.

Cllr John King made his request in a motion tabled to the July meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District.

It requests "that the council liaise with Dawn Meats Rathdowney so as to install an automatic unit on the present sluice gate in order to avoid looking for security staff or engineers who are off duty after work, which will avoid the river overflowing and causing flooding to adjoining properties".

He began by praising the factory.

"The service that Dawn Meats gave to Rathdowney is great.

"Due to cutbacks the man goes off at 5pm. Farmers bring in cattle and they are locked into a gate.

"You never have flooding during business hours, but at weekends, the river in front of the meat factory can flood and then I get a call to try and find an engineer.

"Dawn Meats said they will financially suppport a gate, if Laois County Council do their part. When the water goes to a certain level, the gate lifts. A small piece of mechanism would solve this. There is a cost to local businesses," he said.

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His motion was seconded by Cllr Ollie Clooney who wants support to be shown to Dawn Meats.

"The more meat factories we have operating, the better. Competition is the name of the game," he said.

In reply, Laois County Council's acting senior area engineer James Dowling said that the council would welcome a meeting with Cllr King and Dawn Meats to further this request.