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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Apr 1989

Vol. 389 No. 2

Written Answers. - Poultry and Egg Production.

18.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement indicating the steps he is taking to safeguard the production of poultry and eggs.

67.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he intends to provide assistance to the Irish egg industry arising from the damage caused to the industry by the salmonella issue originating in Great Britain; the form this assistance will take; if he intends to launch a public information campaign regarding the health standards of Irish produced eggs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

82.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will consider a compensation package for primary producers of poultry and eggs who have suffered considerable losses as a result of recent consumer doubts, which were outside the control of these producers.

97.

asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the latest information available to him on the extent of salmonella contamination of Irish eggs and poultry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 67, 82 and 97 together.

Following the outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis in the later months of 1988, a series of meetings took place between officials from the Departments of Health and Agriculture and Food and representatives of interests from the poultry and eggs industry. These discussions resulted in the formulation of a voluntary code of practice which I launched on 9 December last. The code is addressed to all sectors of the industry — breeders, hatcheries, grower and layer farms, processors, egg packers and feed mills. It lays down the most appropriate practices to be followed in all of these areas, sets the strictest requirements in relation to hygiene, health status and input usage, and establishes elaborate monitoring procedures.

Since its launch, the code has been supplementing the extensive monitoring programme for salmonella enteritidis which my Department have been carrying out over the last six months. This programme has involved the monitoring of eggs and poultry at all levels of the industry with the aim of identifying all possible sources of salmonella enteritidis contamination and eliminating these as quickly as possible. The results from the first phase of the monitoring programme carried out in December and January last, confirmed that the problem of salmonella enteritidis in the poultry sector in Ireland was very limited.

A small number of breeding farm flocks, which identified positive, were removed last December in keeping with the slaughter policy adopted by the industry. This policy was aimed at ensuring that egg supplies to hatcheries and day-old placements with growers would come only from sources confirmed free from salmonella enteritidis. The Department's monitoring programme has been continuing over recent months and the second phase of sampling has now been completed. The preliminary results from this second round again indicate that the problem has been largely contained and that we are quickly moving to a situation where all poultry flocks in Ireland should be free of any possible link with the infection.

I should, of course, say that eggs have not been identified as a possible contaminant in any case of salmonella enteritidis reported in Ireland. Eggs have been cleared in all tests carried out to date by my Department. While some outbreaks have been linked to the consumption of poultry meat, it is now evident that this product is not the source of contamination in all cases. Indeed, available evidence in relation to a number of the outbreaks suggests that other sources are involved.

My Department and the Department of Health have been liaising closely in dealing with salmonella enteritidis in recent months. Our principal concerns have been to ensure that sources of contamination are eliminated quickly and that consumers are assured of reliable product. Consumers can help themselves by buying only from reliable sources, following basic hygiene rules and by ensuring good housekeeping and cooking practices. I endorse the exhortations given by the Minister for Health in this area in recent months.

I have no plans to introduce a compensation package for income losses incurred by primary producers. This type of measure has not been made available even in the case of notifiable diseases and I do not propose to make an exception here.

My Department are involved in discussions with the industry on the possibility of launching a suitably timed publicity campaign designed to promote the consumption of poultry and eggs. I will keep open the possibility of making a financial contribution to the cost of such a campaign.

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