I raise a matter of importance not only for the animal world but for the human population — the incorporation of meat and bonemeal in animal feedstuffs. For the past 12 months the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Deputy Yates, has told everyone he had tightened up the regulations and he could give assurances that meat and bonemeal had been excluded from animal feed thereby reducing the risk of BSE contamination in our livestock herd.
Last week I tabled a question on this matter and was told on Wednesday, 5 February, that the Department had found 76 positive samples since the beginning of 1996 and 39 of them were being further investigated. On the following day, Thursday, 6 February, I was told in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 81 that there were 58 positive samples. I do not know how that discrepancy arose.
From January to December 1996 nine samples were found in mills in County Cork. This is a serious matter. The Minister sought to suggest that his predecessors had not policed this area properly but he had.
This week's Irish Farmers' Journal states:
We have had several official announcements about the tightening up of the regulations governing the production of meat and bone meal and its use. We had assumed that mills allowed use meat and bone meal were not allowed manufacture compounds intended for bovine use. It now seems that our assumptions were based on nothing more than cosy but misleading assurances.
The report also stated:
Those in responsible positions talk about the difficulty of distinguishing fragments of bone from chickens to those of mammalian origin. We have heard no reputable scientist repeat such implausible excuses.
The IFA yesterday issued a statement by Mr. Michael Slattery, chairman of the IFA's national animal feedstuffs committee, which referred to the fact that Minister Yates was recently forced to reveal in the Dáil that meat and bonemeal of mammalian-avian origin was found in 58 samples of ruminant feed on compounders' premises in 17 counties during 1996. He added that the behaviour of compounders in including meat and bonemeal in livestock feed was highly irresponsible and is only exceeded by the failure of the regulatory authorities in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to stop the practice. He said he was appalled by the fact that there were repeated breaches of the regulations and no apparent action was taken by the Department.
Will the Minister of State give an assurance to the House that the practice of adding meat and bonemeal in animal feedstuffs will be stopped and that we can be assured there will be no recycling of contaminated feedstuffs, which the scientists tell us lead to the spread of BSE? That is the bottom line. If those regulations are breached, are there likely to be prosecutions?
We have a problem securing markets in the European Union and third countries. There has been a severe fall in the morale of the farming community, particularly the beef community. They deserve an assurance that this practice will be stopped. I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to reply to this matter. I hope he can give an assurance on this so that consumers can be confident that the feed Irish livestock eat is safe and contains no recycled meat and bonemeal of any kind.
