One in 10 in Louth suffer from food poverty

12,500 people in Co Louth are suffering from food poverty, according to new figures released by trade unions Unite and Mandate.

Despite the alarming figures, which account for 10.2% of the population of the county, Louth has one of the smallest levels of food poverty nationwide.

The Wee County had the sixth lowest levels of food poverty according to the figures, coming just behind Dublin (8.8%), Limerick (9.6%), Kildare (9.6%), Cork (9.7%) and Galway (10.1%).

As the trade unions called for the Government to release vital funds to help tackle the problem, they cited pensioners, the newly unemployed and lone parents as among the worst off.

Mandate general secretary John Douglas said food poverty means someone has been forced to miss a meal because they could not afford it.

“It may mean they cannot afford a meal with meat or the vegetarian equivalent every second day or afford a roast or vegetarian equivalent once a week,” Mr Douglas said.

“Those suffering food poverty may be lone-parent families, they may be the newly unemployed, they may be pensioners – and they may be people in work, struggling to survive on low wages.”

Union boss receives death threats

Brendan Ogle

ESB union boss Brendan Ogle confirmed yesterday that he received death threats during the recent dispute with the ESB, which threatened to result in black-outs around the country from next Monday.

Threats of a “serious nature” were also made against his family, Mr Ogle told Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio yesterday.

Ogle, who hails from Marian Park in Dundalk, said the threats were taken seriously and were a factor as to why negotiations between the ESB and the unions took place at undisclosed locations. A deal was struck between the ESB and unions on Sunday, preventing the possibility of industrial action next week.

“Unfortunately people have been whipped up by this. Threats of a serious nature have been made against me and my family and these are being investigated by the gardai and I don’t want to say much more about it,” he told Sean O’Rourke.

When the broadcaster asked if it was a threat to his life, he replied “yes”.

The unions boss said the threats were made a week ago and that gardai were treating them seriously.

He also said the death threats were “a factor” in the talks between the ESB and union officials taking place at undisclosed locations.

Up to 60 jobs under threat at Heinz in Dundalk

The Heinz factory in Dundalk

As many as 60 jobs could be under threat at Heinz in Dundalk as part of the company’s plan to cut 248 office jobs across its 2,600 workforce in Ireland and the UK.

Heinz revealed yesterday that it had developed a new “streamlined structure”, which could lead to job losses similar to the 600 lay offs that were implemented in the United States earlier this month.

The latest accounts for Heinz show that it currently employs 279 staff in Dundalk. However, 217 of these are in manufacturing, which will not be targeted for redundancies.

Only office workers, which includes admin and sales staff, are under threat.

Heinz has refused to comment on where the jobs will be lost if they go ahead with their current plans but trade union Unite has said that it has been assured that none of its members were affected. Despite this they are looking to meet with Heinz management for further reassurances.

Yesterday’s statement said that the proposals were subject to a consultation process with employees and their representatives.

Heinz first came to Dundalk in 1993 and are based at the Finnabair Industrial Estate. They have picked up numerous awards over the years, with the local factory dedicated to making frozen meals as opposed to other products the company are famed for such as their baked beans and range of sauces.