Vol. 458 No. 5
186 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the plans, if any, he has to publish the reports of his Department's officers who travelled with the two recent trial shipments of live cattle to Saudi Arabia; if so, when the reports will be published; and, if the reports are not to be made public, the reason for this in view of growing public concerns about this trade and a need for openness, transparency and accountability. [17271/95]
Veterinary inspectors from my Department travelled with two consignments of cattle to Saudi Arabia which left Ireland on 19 August and 1 September last. Their reports are for Departmental use and contain information supplied confidentially by the shipowners — thus I am not in a position to publish their reports. I recently announced that, prior to making a final decision in relation to this destination, I propose to authorise two further shipments of cattle to Saudi Arabia which will also be accompanied by veterinary inspectors from my Department.
