Vol. 496 No. 6
152 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the disciplinary action, if any, taken against officials of his Department responsible for the negligence and breach of community regulations in the case taken by Emerald Meats against his Department. [23369/98]
As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 11 on 12 November, the case in question was technically and legally complex. The decision by my Department in January 1990 to grant the import quota rights to the meat processors, rather than to Emerald Meats, was supported by legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General. It is the case that the courts subsequently found against the Department's interpretation of EU Regulations involved. This does not, however, take from the fact that the decision was taken in good faith at the time.
I am satisfied that the officials involved had acted in good faith, even thought their interpretation of EU law was subsequently found to be incorrect, and while there were shortcomings in the administrative procedures and customer relations practices employed, it does not merit disciplinary action.
