asked the Minister for Agriculture the steps he is taking to ensure that all abattoirs in which animals are slaughtered for domestic consumption are brought up to an acceptable standard.
12.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Abattoir Standards.
11.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he intends to update legislation relating to the slaughter and transportation of meat; and in particular when it is intended to overhaul legislation in regard to abattoirs.
13.
asked the Minister for Agriculture when he proposes to introduce legislation for licensing of pig slaughtering factories.
14.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he has any plans for the future development of slaughterhouses for animals for domestic use.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 14, inclusive, together.
Veterinary inspection at slaughterhouses catering for the home market only is the responsibility of local authorities. On the other hand, factories which supply meat for export come under the direct veterinary supervision of my Department. These factories must conform to standards laid down in national legislation and in EC legislation for intra-Community trade and must also meet standards required by importing countries outside the Community. These could be more rigorous than some of the EC standards. One thinks of the US, for instance.
Control of premises producing meat solely for the home market and the transport of such meat are matters for the veterinary inspectors employed by the local authorities and the health inspectors employed by the regional health boards. In many of these local slaughterhouses standards of inspection and hygiene are high. Nevertheless, the absence of uniformity in standards has been a cause of concern to me. In this regard the Government have decided to introduce legislation to apply standards of veterinary control and hygiene at local slaughtering premises which will be on a par with the standards applying at export premises. It has also been decided that responsibility for the new arrangements will rest with the Minister for Agriculture.
My Department are at present examining this whole question with a view to the preparation of the necessary legislation to provide for standards of hygiene and veterinary control at all slaughtering premises, including those slaughtering pigs. Because many of the existing enactments in this area are old and complicated, the preparation of comprehensive amending legislation is a highly complex operation. However, I intend to have the new proposals before the Oireachtas as early as possible. I hope to have the Bill before the House in the autumn.
The Minister has said that the standard in some of the abattoirs is very high but he did not put the counterpoint. Would he accept that the standard in the majority of slaughterhouses is very low? A survey carried out about six months ago indicated that only about one in five of these premises reached the required standard. Would the Minister agree that in perhaps almost half the total number of counties, there is no abattoirs of acceptable standard and, consequently, does he appreciate the urgency of the new legislation?
I am aware of the urgency of the new legislation and that is why we are introducing it. I might add for the information of the House that there are 800 slaughtering premises under local authority control and that ten of the counties concerned employ 23 whole time veterinary inspectors while the majority employ only part time officers. There is fairly general dissatisfaction with standards.
We discussed this question in some depth with the Minister for Agriculture the other day but would the Minister of State not agree that even in respect of those premises where animals are killed totally for export, the standards are totally inadequate in terms of equipment and controls? Is there not a real urgency, then, not only in terms of the home market but of exports also, to have matters rectified? We have lost very valuable markets in the pigmeat industry, an area that is so important to our economy.
I was not here when the Minister was answering questions in this regard but I gather that the Deputy is referring to the delay in bringing into existence the long awaited centralised slaughtering units.
That is correct.
I agree that the matter is urgent.
Apparently this decision was made by the Government at the end of last year. At least, it was reported in the press around that time that urgent legislation would be introduced in order to improve standards of slaughtering animals for domestic purposes. Has no action been taken since November or December last?
As I have said, we have been studying the question and considering options and the type of legislation that is needed. The whole area is fairly complex and all we have now is a hotch potch of old fashioned legislation. We are considering the matter seriously and hope to have the relevant Bill before the House in the autumn.
Can the Minister confirm whether veterinary inspectors in the Department are discouraging the erection of modern slaughterhouses in rural areas and seem to prefer to carry out inspections in more centralised urban areas, in areas that are much more adjacent to where these officers live?
I am not aware that that is happening. In my part of the country, for example, quite a number of new facilities are being erected in rural areas. One of the difficulties that is likely to arise, following the enactment of the new legislation, will be in relation to finding new locations for premises if a large number of the existing ones have to close. No one likes to have a slaughterhouse within miles of where they live.