The first question was on what our parent Department should be. We would be happy to come within the remit of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism were a political decision to that effect to be taken. The decision is outside our control. There was a perception that departments of agriculture suffered from CJD - conflicting job description - as they were trying to protect industry and the public at the same time. The FSAI is an independent consumer protection agency and politicians do not interfere with us, except to cut our budgets. We get on with our job. I do not know how to answer the question. My explanation did not provide an answer regarding the role of DAF.
At one time, intervention and hacking and packing were perceived in the beef industry as the only show in town. Now that the major players are the supermarkets, food safety has become an important trade issue. When people come to Ireland, the food island, to buy food, the first question they ask, even before they ask about the quality of the product, is what controls are in place. At one time, people in the food business considered food safety an add-on. It is now an order qualifier, that is, unless one has controls one cannot operate in the food safety business. Food safety and trade have become much more compatible due to high levels of consumer anxiety about food safety.
On the issue of closure orders, the different sectors of the food chain are policed by different parts of the national inspectorate. The health boards are responsible for all the retail and catering outlets. We have 300 environmental health officers responsible for 38,000 premises, of which more open every day. There has been an exponential increase in premises selling food and in the range of foods on offer. For example, a garage forecourt selling sweets today might sell sandwiches tomorrow, quiche the next day and chicken wings the day after. Although there has been huge growth in this area, we have not had a massive increase in the number of inspectors - we would need to clone them to keep pace.
We have categorised premises on the basis of risk and their managerial expertise. We try to target the resources of environmental health officers in the health boards accordingly and have undertaken a large number of initiatives with industry. We have, for example, introduced codes of practice to try to ensure industry has management systems in place to produce safe food 365 days per year.
On the issue of high profile closure orders, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act gave the agency draconian powers. Enforcement officers have the power to close a premises on the spot if they consider there is an immediate danger to public health. This is a last resort. Most of the time, our enforcement officers act in an advisory capacity, offering encouragement. One must commit a mortal sin to be closed down as closure is immediate and the name of the company is placed on our website for three months following the resolution of the issues which gave rise to the closure. It is not commercially advantageous to have one's name on the list. When one considers the number of premises in the retail and catering sector - some 38,000 - the number of closures is very small.
On the question of the number of times a premises is visited before being closed down, most premises are given sufficient opportunities to improve and receive advice and improvement notices before that stage is reached. Closure is a last resort.
Due to the number of premises, we are trying to mobilise the public to be more demanding. Irish people do not complain. If people see something shoddy, they should raise it immediately and take their business elsewhere. This would drive up standards. Given that we will never be able to police 38,000 premises for 365 days of the year, we have to make an example of those premises we do close, which is the reason their names are displayed on our website. Hopefully such adverse publicity influences others.
The group of 38,000 premises serving food contains the good, the bad and the ugly. It includes businesses which achieve standards far in excess of the legal requirement, others which are mediocre, and some that are bad. The legal requirement can be compared to the pass leaving certificate. Some businesses are taking honours papers, while others are doing university degrees. This is the range of standards we have.
On the question of fast food, one third of the population is overweight. The most significant problem this country faces with regard to food - I should have said this at the outset - is not that food is unsafe, but that we are all eating too much of it, both the right foods and the wrong foods. Eating has become a social event and food a business. People have choices about the amount they eat. Unfortunately, however, many do not make choices about their health until they become sick, by which time the choice is between chemotherapy and radiotherapy or a bypass operation and a stent. At that stage, it is too late.
Fast food can be safe food and is not necessarily junk food. There are, for example, a significant number of juice bars, including one on Suffolk Street owned by Bono's brother, which serves organic fast food.
There is a great deal of advertising targeted at children encouraging them to eat stuff which is not as healthy as it should be. I do not know what is the solution to this practice. We need to change people's behaviour. Making people aware of the risks does not necessarily lead them to change their behaviour. Everybody knows, for example, that smoking is not good, yet a third of us continue to smoke.
The Food Safety Authority carried out a total diet survey to find out what people are eating. It is interesting to note the degree to which we eat out. In the United States, 52% of all food is eaten outside the home. Worse still, 15% of food is eaten in cars, a practice known as "dashboard dining". We are moving in this direction. This development is a major issue, which goes beyond food safety. It concerns nutrition and lifestyle. People are so busy, they grab food on the move. However, food to go need not be unhealthy. People have the choice to buy healthy options if they wish.