Vol. 533 No. 5
63 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he has had any contact from the Egyptian authorities on the re-opening of the cattle trade in June 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9288/01]
The task of recovering the Egyptian market for Irish beef is based on a restoration of confidence in the safety of our product. I and senior officials of my Department travelled to Egypt last December and met the Egyptian authorities in Cairo in an effort to secure restoration of this market for Irish beef. The Taoiseach also spoke with Egyptian President Mubarak on this matter. I am satisfied that the Egyptian authorities have a full appreciation of the low level of BSE in Ireland, the way in which it is dealt with and the effectiveness of the many layers of controls and checks that are in place. However, in many of our non-EU markets, and Egypt is no exception, the situation has been 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 the Egyptian market to Irish beef. It is, however, clear that a restoration of exports to markets such as Egypt is linked to an easing of the concerns about BSE at EU level.
