Vol. 410 No. 4
2 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the action he has taken, or proposes to take, on the recent survey among the catering trade which expressed a very high rate of dissatisfaction with the quality of Irish vegetables and in particular Irish potatoes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to (a) the recent report on food supplies in the catering sector produced by the Teagasc Food Centre which states that some Irish caterers are sourcing food supplies outside the State for reasons of quality and continuity of supply and (b) the particular criticism expressed about the poor quality of potatoes; the steps, if any, his Department are taking to deal with these shortcomings; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 31 together.
I am aware of the recent marketing report by the National Food Centre of Teagasc where reference is made to quality aspects and supply of food products to the catering industry.
The sourcing of supplies, whether within or outside the State, is of course primarily a matter for the purchaser. My Department are in close and frequent contact with the industry in the context of my concern that adequate supplies of home-grown quality products should be available to the Irish consumer.
As regards vegetables, quality standards are laid down by EC regulations and in the case of potatoes by national regulations. Inspections are carried out by officers of my Department at all stages of the marketing chain to ensure that the statutory standards are being observed. In addition, An Bord Glas is playing a key role in improving the supply of quality vegetables for the market place.
The Minister's reply does not really answer the question I asked. This survey was a grave indictment of the potato industry and, while the findings of the survey may not be correct, I would like to hear the Minister's views on the matter.
There seems to be a problem with the handling and storage of potatoes. I am aware that some people store potatoes in the proper fashion but apparently in the latter part of the season the potatoes are of inferior quality because of incorrect handling and storage. I have seen that the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh, has said that the survey was not a true reflection of the situation. I would like to believe that to be true; but it must be alarming that people in the catering trade regard the quality of our vegetables, particularly our potatoes, to be substandard late in the season.
This was quite a limited survey and, while we are not questioning the accuracy of it, it does not in my view give us a true picture of the actual position in the potato sector. The Deputy knows that since we established An Bord Glas as an interim board in March 1987, and subsequently as a statutory board, the potato sector has been one of their prime target areas. In the interests of making the necessary progress in that sector we have agreed with the IFA to the appointment on a joint basis of a market co-ordinator and I can tell the House that he has been doing an excellent job since his appointment.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Michael O'Kennedy, has succeeded in getting the producer group regulation extended to cover potatoes. The announcement of the first producer group formation is imminent. Preliminary preparatory work is going on in other parts of the country for the establishment of subsequent producer groups. In addition we have secured grant aid under the operational programme for rural development for the building of proper environmentally controlled potato stores. I think Deputy Deasy is quite right to focus on that area, that at the end of the season the quality of our potatoes tend to deteriorate primarily because of the inadequacy of the storage facilities. An Bord Glas identified this as one of the problem areas in their programme for development in 1988. I can assure the Deputy that considerable progress is being made in that regard. As a result of the introduction of the new scheme for the potato sector we have received all of 200 applications, which are presently being processed in the Department. We are very anxious to see investment both in storage and ancillary equipment, which is so necessary to effect the structural changes within the potato industry.
Surely our objective should be to identify and expose those people who are supplying substandard potatoes to the market place? I would have thought that the provisions of the Bill, which provide for the registration of growers, would make the identification of these people quite simple. Is that legislation in operation? Why can the people who supply substandard produce not be identified and penalised for selling substandard produce?
I can assure the Deputy that that area is being pursued, but at the end of the day market forces will sort out the producers who are producing the substandard produce from those producing proper material.
The reality of the market place is that if those in the catering industry or those who are purchasing for supermarket outlets cannot secure quality products at home they will simply turn to imports. There is a realisation among the primary producers that that will happen if they do not produce what is required. We are making steady but slow progress in effecting the changes that we wish to effect. The measures which will effect a change over a short number of years are in place.
