Vol. 460 No. 3
531 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the arguments used by his Department during previous BSE scares to assure purchasers of the safety of Irish beef; if the fact that veterinarians were involved in the physical inspection of meat and offal was a major assurance to prospective purchasers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19193/95]
A number of arguments have been put forward to counter BSE related concerns. First, it is emphasised that Ireland has an extremely low incidence of the disease, an annual average of 16 cases out of a cattle population of 7 million or an annual animal incidence of 0.0002 per cent. It is also stressed that the disease occurs in older cows and that it has not occurred in steers from which our export trade is derived.
The stringent and comprehensive nature of our controls are outlined in some detail to concerned parties. It is pointed out that Ireland complies fully with the OIE — the international veterinary organisation — guidelines under which cattle and cattle products may be traded with safety and that our controls exceed these guidelines. It is also stated that BSE has been the subject of considerable analysis by the EU scientific veterinary committee and that the European Union did not find it necessary to include Ireland in the scope of measures introduced for BSE.
