Work is being done on creating a ‘turnaround plan’ for the island’s abattoir.

Minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Agriculture Clare Barber has said the plan will be ‘completed by the end of the month’.

This comes after an audit into the Isle of Man meat plant found major challenges that needed addressing, including the improvement of the sales model, increasing the throughput of the plant through operational efficiencies, and improving training for employees.

Mrs Barber told Tynwald members on Tuesday that work is underway to address these issues after meeting with the board of directors and plant managers to discuss remedial action.

Additional support will be provided to the plant to help make necessary changes. She added that the board needed to also look ahead at three, six and 12 month delivery plans.

Describing the meat plant as an ‘important strategic asset for our island’, the minister highlighted particular concern around sales, saying this will have an impact on butchers.

Mrs Barber said there is a ‘pressing, urgent and immediate need’ to resolve this as ‘the whole chain’ is affected when ‘one thing is destabilised’.

She took on the role of chair amid the fallout of the audit report to demonstrate her commitment to the meat plant.

The minister stressed in the sitting that she would only stay in the role ‘only as long as absolutely necessary’ and the DEFA is currently working on an advert to recruit a long-term chair.