Ciarán Cuffe
Question:47 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on the considerations of the interdepartmental committee for dealing with the MBM problem. [14050/03]
Written Answers. - Meat and Bonemeal Disposal.
The work of the inter departmental committee on the disposal of meat and bone meal is nearing completion. The recommendations of that committee, which is chaired by my Department, and includes representatives of the Departments of Finance, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Environment and Local Government, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Enterprise Ireland, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, will be given careful consideration and will, it is hoped, contribute to a resolution of how this country should deal with its output of meat and bone meal. Part-time farmers are also eligible the same direct payment as full-time farmers and have benefited from the increased payments under Agenda 2000. Similarly, other market support measures such as intervention and export refunds which help maintain output prices benefit both full and part-time farmers.