I am pleased to resume the Second Stage debate on this Bill. As I said in my opening remarks on 10 November, this is a crucially important Bill. Its purpose is to streamline and strengthen existing controls. It is directed at reassuring consumers regarding the safety of Irish beef and, in so doing, will also strengthen the commercial trading infrastructure for the beef sector as a whole. It is, in effect, a landmark Bill.
Beef is a multi-million pound industry which makes a substantial contribution to the economy. In 1998, for example, output from primary beef production, excluding direct payments, amounted to £1.1 billion, or just over 2 per cent of GNP. There are approximately 130,000 farmers engaged in beef production in Ireland and beef is the major enterprise in some 90,000 of these holdings. In addition, some 10,000 persons are employed in the processing sector and in associated industries at livestock marts, the butchering trade etc.
The maintenance and development of a strong, vibrant beef industry has been a matter of concern for all Governments over the years. At the beginning of 1996, the beef industry was in a strong position. Irish beef was commanding prices close to 90% of the EU price through the establishment of a strong presence on the higher margin European markets and reduced reliance on the lower margin third country markets. Confidence in the future of the industry was at a high. The advent of the BSE crisis in March 1996 changed all that.
Although Ireland has only a low and sporadic level of BSE cases, exports to EU and third country markets plummeted and some countries banned imports of Irish beef altogether. The prices realised by Irish beef producers fell to their lowest level in the EU and, equally important, the confidence of customers and consumers of Irish beef was seriously undermined. The crisis affected not only Irish beef, but the EU beef market as a whole. Urgent action was required and a number of initiatives were adopted at EU and national levels.
At EU level, the Commission reorganised and expanded its control and inspection services in the food, veterinary and plant health sectors. These functions are, of course, now the responsibility of Ireland's Mr. David Byrne, the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. The Commission also established a number of scientific and advisory committees to assist it in the formulation of policies in this area. In addition, a rapid food alert system was put in place to provide early warning of food safety alerts. The overhaul of this system in the wake of the recent Belgium dioxin scare is one of the priorities for the new Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection.
At national level, the Government established the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which is charged with protecting consumer health by ensuring that food produced in the State meets the highest standards of food hygiene and safety. One of the functions of the FSAI is to develop and co-ordinate an efficient food safety inspection service across the entire food chain to ensure consumer health is protected. For this purpose, the FSAI has concluded service contracts with a number of agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, for the delivery of food safety services in their areas of responsibility.
More specifically in relation to the beef sector, the regulations on animal identification and movements were strengthened. At national level, there was a commitment in Partnership 2000 to develop a national beef assurance scheme to promote the safety of Irish beef, a central element of which would be the provision of a comprehensive animal identification and tracing system.
While the situation for Irish beef has improved considerably since mid-1996, and while many markets which had been closed to us have been reopened, a number remain closed or partially closed to Irish beef. There has also been a high level of renationalisation within the major EU markets. In addition, the climate for food production has changed dramatically. The protection of human health is now paramount and the provision of a high level of public health protection has become a central focus for all governments. It is now fully accepted that the maintenance and improvement of market position is dependent on meeting consumers' requirements, particularly in relation to food safety.
It is against this backdrop that the Government approved the text of a Bill which places the national beef assurance scheme on a statutory footing. The Bill is clear evidence of the Govern-ment's continuing commitment to ensuring the highest standards of food safety, starting with the very important beef sector. The Bill is also an important element in the overall strategy for the future of the beef industry set out in the recently published report of the beef task force.
The details of the scheme have been discussed extensively with the representatives of the main participants in it – farmers, abattoirs, meat plants, marts, the animal feeding stuffs trade etc. There is widespread support for the introduction of the scheme, albeit some concerns have been expressed, mainly in relation to its scope and the cost of compliance with it.
The Bill provides for the establishment of a national beef assurance scheme, the purpose of which is the development of common standards for the production, processing and trade in Irish cattle and beef for human consumption and the manufacture and trade of feeding stuffs; the application of these standards through a system of registration, inspection and approval; and the enhancement of an animal identification and traceability system for Irish cattle.
The Bill applies to all persons engaged in the primary production and processing of Irish cattle and beef, that is, farmers engaged in cattle and beef production, cattle dealers, exporters of live cattle, livestock marts, slaughtering premises and establishments which otherwise process beef and establishments which manufacture or trade feeding stuffs. Some concern has been expressed regarding the apparent non-application of the scheme to the retail sector. The position is that the Bill needs to be read with existing legislation on food hygiene covering the retail sector. The European Communities (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 1998 (SI No. 80 of 1998) and the European Communities (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 1998 (SI No. 85 of 1998) set out the detailed standards and controls for retail food businesses. These regulations are enforced by the health boards, which have also concluded service contracts with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, and which are responsible for the delivery of food safety for this sector. The regulations just cited set out detailed standards for these businesses, covering the full gamut of their operations, and provide enforcement officers with powers of seizure, detention, withdrawal of product, and the suspension, closure and prosecution of businesses.
Against this background, the Government considers that to include this sector in the registration, inspection and approval system under the national beef assurance scheme would constitute a duplication of valuable resources and the introduction of a two tier anomalous system of control. It would be contrary to the regulatory reform package adopted by the Government, which seeks to simplify the regulatory framework for businesses.
However, by regulating primary production and processing, the scheme will regulate the sources of supply for such businesses. In addition, under the scheme they will be obliged to source their supplies only from participants who are approved, and non-compliance with this provision will constitute an offence for which rigorous penalties are provided. Furthermore, provision has been made for the appointment of officials of the health boards as authorised officers to check whether this provision is being complied with. I am satisfied that the combination of the food hygiene regulations and the national beef assurance scheme will ensure the entire food chain is encompassed in regard to the production, processing and sale of Irish beef and cattle.
The Bill provides that only persons meeting the prescribed standards set out in its Second Schedule for the various categories of participants will be approved to participate in the cattle, beef and feeding stuffs industry. The standards in question are already contained in existing legislation for the most part and cover such matters as animal identification, animal health, animal remedies, animal feed, hygiene and hygiene practices, production and manufacturing practices, construction, maintenance and operation of premises and the environment, including pollution and waste control. There is, however, provision for the making of regulations where gaps have been identified in existing legislation, for example, in relation to the possession of, or tampering with, cattle ear tags and identity cards and the documentation of certain operational procedures in meat plants. Accordingly, while the Bill will tighten up the implementation of existing provisions, it will not impose any undue new legislative burden on participants.
The Bill provides for a mandatory application, inspection, approval and registration process for all participants, the purpose of which is to provide independently-backed assurances about the safety of Irish beef. As it will take some time to complete the inspection process, there is provision for transitional arrangements under which all participants will be deemed to be provisionally approved until they have been either granted or refused approval under the scheme. All participants will be formally inspected and the arrangements for the inspections are being agreed with the various representative organisations. Agreement has been reached with all the parties concerned except the farming organisations. The proposal is that the inspection of farms will be carried out as part of the annual disease test on all herds. Discussions are continuing on this point and it is hoped the matter will be agreed in the near future. I stress that nothing in the Bill will prejudice the outcome of these discussions.
Participants who are found to be in compliance with the requirements of the scheme will be issued with formal approval and will be entered in the register of approved participants. The period of validity of the approval will be open-ended, although there is provision to set a fixed period of validity for all or some categories of participants, should this prove necessary in the future. Approved participants will be subject to ongoing monitoring to ensure continued compliance with the scheme and there is provision for the making of regulations setting out the procedures for such re-inspections. Details of the re-inspection procedures will be agreed with the various representative organisations.
Participants who are found not to be in compliance with the scheme will be informed of the action they must take to bring themselves into compliance and will be given a reasonable amount of time to do this. However, if they fail to take the necessary action they will be informed that their application for approval is being refused or revoked. Participants will have an opportunity to make representations against such decisions and the matter may also be appealed to the Circuit Court in the event of the refusal or revocation proceeding. The final sanction is that participants who have not been granted approval or who lose their approval status will not be allowed to trade in cattle, beef or feedstuffs. It must be stressed that these provisions do not introduce a licensing system to produce beef, but rather seek to ensure all cattle and beef produced for human consumption in Ireland comply with the statutory requirements and are safe to eat.
There has been some criticism that the level of the penalties provided for in the Bill are draconian. I stress the penalties provided for are the maximum applicable and it does not follow that maximum fines will be levied in all prosecution cases. This is a matter for the courts who have a duty to ensure the principle of proportionality – that the punishment fits the crime – is observed. The Department does not enter into legal proceedings lightly and I assure the House that prosecution of offences will be undertaken only when all other remedial options have failed. However, it is essential to have strong deterrents in the Bill to deal firmly with the very small percentage of persons engaged in criminal activity in the sector.
A comprehensive system for animal identification already exists for Irish cattle, including bovine tagging and cattle identity cards. In 1997, work commenced on a major enhancement of the animal identification system with a view to incorporating data on all animal movements, as required by EU law. This system is known as the cattle movement monitoring system and involves the use of electronic means to capture data on animal movements through computer links established at livestock marts, meat processing plants and export points. A paper notification system is used to record movements where electronic means are not feasible. Implementation of this system is well advanced and, when fully operational, will provide for verification of the origin, identity and life history of bovine animals before they enter the human foodchain. The system is already in operation in relation to private sales from farm to farm and in more than 90 per cent of livestock marts, with the remaining marts coming on board at an early date. The system is also being rolled out to export approved meat plants with 80 per cent operational to date. It was introduced at local authority abattoirs on 27 September and piloted at live export points last month. To date, 2.2 million animal movements have been recorded on the system. With the co-operation of all parties, it is expected the system will be fully in place by the end of the year.
Under the Bill the requirement for relevant participants required to notify the movement of all animals on to or off their holdings or premises will be reinforced. There is also provision for the making of regulations setting out the form and time of the notifications, and the procedures for the use of the CMMS database to identify and trace animals slaughtered for human consumption. The inclusion of CMMS provisions in the Bill is necessary to provide the requisite legal powers to ensure participants comply with the requirements regarding the notification of animal movements, and that animals whose origins and life histories cannot be verified can be barred from entering the human foodchain.
The national beef assurance scheme is a comprehensive and far-reaching scheme which demonstrates the commitment of the Government to underpinning the beef sector and I am glad to note the Bill has the overall support of the industry. I accept there are a number of outstanding issues still to be finalised, including the arrangements for the inspection of farms, and these will be attended to in full consultation with the relevant industry partners.
It has been said that the Bill is unduly restrictive and that it will impose an additional burden and cost, particularly on farmers, without delivering any tangible benefits. This is not the case. The standards farmers are expected to meet are already largely contained in existing legislation. As to costs, the vast bulk of producers already comply with the relevant legislation and any additional costs will be minimal. The position is that the environment in which beef is now being marketed has changed radically. We have to provide independently-backed guarantees that Irish beef is safe if we are to remain competitive and maintain or increase our market share. Of necessity this will impose some extra obligations on all elements of the beef sector. However, we have sought to keep these to a minimum while still delivering a credible scheme which will address the very real concerns of consumers and customers of Irish beef.
One of the main aims of the Bill is to ensure the origin and history of all cattle and beef entering the human foodchain can be verified. This is a mammoth task which involves recording details of all the events in the life of the national herd, together with tracking the millions of cattle movements each year. The system that has been set up in meat plants, livestock marts, and so on, will ensure this can be done. The obligations imposed on the retail sector under the Bill, together with the legislative provisions already in operation for this sector, will provide guarantees on the safety of beef right across the foodchain. The national beef assurance scheme is comprehensive and credible and will deliver the additional assurances which will enable us to say that beef and beef products produced in Ireland are safe and wholesome to eat. I commend the Bill to the House.
