Vol. 489 No. 6
339 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the way in which it is proposed to assist producers in the livestock trading sector to comply with the regulations under the beef assurance proposals; if assistance is proposed to bring farmyards up to an acceptable standard in view of the small margins that exist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9464/98]
Under the national beef assurance scheme, which will be introduced this year, livestock producers will be obliged to comply with integrated protocols which are being drawn up for all parties in the food chain. The protocols will be enforced through a registration and approval process covering the entire beef industry.
The protocols, which will set out the baseline standards for the different sections of the industry, will be largely based on existing legislative requirements. The draft protocols are currently under discussion with the interested organisations and it is hoped that these negotiations will be completed shortly. Given the nature of the scheme, it is not proposed to provide assistance to livestock producers or to other elements of the industry to comply with the protocols.
