Vol. 533 No. 5
28 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the actions being taken, or planned, to assist the market recovery of Ireland to EU and international markets in order to place the industry on a better long-term footing and obviate the need for a destruct scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9118/01]
The task of recovering export markets for Irish beef is based very much on a restoration of confidence in the safety of our product. Since the onset of the current BSE crisis late last year, my Department has been in contact with all of our traditionally important markets to emphasise to them the level of BSE controls in place in Ireland and to point out the assurances we can offer in relation to the safety of Irish beef. An Bord Bia and our embassies abroad contribute on an ongoing basis to this effort.
With regard to Egypt, which is one of our most important third country markets, I and senior officials of my Department travelled to Cairo last December and met with the Egyptian authorities in an effort to secure restoration of this market for Irish beef. The Taoiseach also spoke with Egyptian President Mubarak on this matter. Senior officials of my Department returned to Egypt earlier this year to continue discussions on a technical level. With regard to Saudi Arabia, a senior official of my Department travelled to Riyadh earlier this year to brief the Saudi authorities on the BSE situation and the level of controls in place in Ireland.
However, in many of our non-EU markets the situation is exacerbated by sensationalised media reporting on BSE and, in particular, on the BSE developments in those countries which have recently encountered their first cases. Nevertheless, I can assure the Deputy that every effort, both directly and through diplomatic channels, is being made to re-open markets to Irish beef. It is, however, clear that a restoration of exports is linked to an easing of the concerns about BSE at EU level.
