Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 25 Oct 2000

Vol. 524 No. 6

Written Answers. - Bovine Diseases.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

113 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development his views on the four cases identified in meat factories whereby spinal cord remained in beef carcasses which was ready to go to butcher shops; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23422/00]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

As part of its extensive BSE related control system, my Department has in place stringent regulations to exclude specified risk material or SRM from human food and animal feed chains. SRM includes the spinal cord of cattle over 12 months. SRM is isolated on slaughter of the animals, permanently stained and removed directly to a specially dedicated rendering plant, where it is rendered for ultimate destruction by incineration.

The incidents to which the Deputy refers arose from the discovery of small amounts of spinal cord in 11 quarters from five consignments of carcasses exported to destinations in Northern Ireland between February and September of this year. Given the absolute necessity to guarantee public safety and maintain consumer confidence in Irish beef coupled with the importance of the beef export industry to the Irish economy, any non-compliance with SRM requirements, however slight, is taken extremely seriously.

With regard to the five incidents in question, my Department enforced a suspension of slaugh tering at each of the plants until a full review of the plant's SRM policy was carried out and measures acceptable to my Department put in place to avoid a recurrence.

While this matter has been taken very seriously, it should be put into context. The level of controls which apply prior to slaughter minimise the risk of a BSE animal being sent for slaughter. In the context of the overall volume of beef exports to Northern Ireland which for 1999 amounted to 13,538 tonnes, 11 quarters containing sections of spinal cord, measuring from 1.5 inches in one to 24 inches in another, were discovered out of approximately 1,000 quarters for the five consignments concerned. No recurrences have occurred at any of the four plants in question. Given a cattle kill of approximately two million animals per year, involving the removal of some ten million feet of spinal cord, the fact that no spinal cord was detected in any other consignments would suggest that these incidents were isolated and sporadic. If the carcasses containing spinal cord had gone to a deboning hall in this country, the cord would have been identified and removed in the course of the second level check, as occurred in Northern Ireland.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

114 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress that has been made over the last three years in the eradication of bovine tuberculosis. [23278/00]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

Higher numbers of bovine TB reactors were disclosed here in 1998 and 1999 than in preceding years. Simultaneously there has been increased levels of the disease in parts of Britain and in Northern Ireland.

Veterinary opinion both here and in the UK is that TB infected badgers are a major constraint to bovine TB eradication. For this reason I have arranged for the effects of badger removal on TB levels in cattle to be studied in detail. The east Offaly badger removal project has been in place for some time and further research commenced in four area experimental projects in parts of Cork north, Donegal, Kilkenny and Monaghan in 1997. I have also arranged for a number of new initiatives in areas where disease levels are particularly high. In particular, herds in these areas are being subjected to a more intensive testing regime additional to the annual round test of each and every herd.

While the number of reactors disclosed to date in the year 2000 is over 3,000 below that for the comparable period in 1999 the current high level of TB is not sustainable. Therefore in the context of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, it has been agreed to commit specified staff resources in each district veterinary office to carry out investigative work into the causes of herd breakdown. A proactive approach to the removal of all sources of infection will be taken in each DVO area using additional and farm relief service personnel. Their efforts will be concentrated in that 20% of the country which yields 50% of current reactors. The objective of this programme is to reduce the incidence of TB by 50% over the next four years.