I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Deputy Hyland, to the House. Deputy Hyland is a former Member of the House and I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment and to wish him well.
Adjournment Matter. - Abattoir Regulations.
First, I wish to thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this matter. Secondly, I would like to join in extending a sincere welcome to Minister Liam Hyland. I wish him every success. He has served the general public at local and national level for many years and I am sure he is familiar with the needs of the people, not only in his own constituency but throughout the country. I am sure he will do his portfolio justice and I wish him every success in his job.
This issue in the context of the Abattoirs Act, 1988 and Abattoir Regulations, 1989, was discussed at my county council meeting last Monday. The provisions of the Abattoirs Act, 1988, became effective as and from 1 September 1989. This Act contains a number of sections dealing with the operation and control of abattoirs and for this purpose specific power was provided under the Act to enable local authorities to employ veterinary inspectors to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act and the regulations made thereunder. The Minister was given power under the legislation to make such regulations. While the regulations have been made they cannot be implemented until a commencement order to give effect to them is made by the Minister.
Provision is made in the Act and Regulations for the carrying out of ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections of animals and meat for consumption on the home market prior to certification as being fit for human consumption. Prior to the Abattoirs Act, 1988, all county councils including South Tipperary County Council, employed part-time veterinary inspectors to carry out limited functions under the legislation. We employ three existing part-time veterinary inspectors in South Tipperary County Council. Having regard to the requirements of the Abattoirs Act, 1988, this county council recruited a full-time veterinary inspector, who has been appointed since March, 1980. This officer has been recruited to carry out the requirements of the Abattoirs Act, 1988, on the basis that his remuneration would be recouped in fees payable under the provisions of the Act for inspections carried out. Since the regulations relating to meat inspection and the charging of fees have not been given effect, all county councils throughout the country have had to meet the costs of employing veterinary officers from their own resources. I am sure the Minister is aware of how scarce resources are in most local authorities, and South Tipperary is no exeception. I am pleading with the Minister on behalf of all county councils to ensure that this problem is sorted out.
It is expected that the regulations in relation to meat inspections will be introduced shortly and the application of these regulations will obviously have financial implications for all councils due to the large numbers of abattoirs. We have 30 in County Tipperary and it is estimated that three full-time veterinary inspectors will be required to carry out the inspection requirements of the regulations. Based on the present salary scale and other associated expenses, the estimated cost of employing three full-time veterinary inspectors would be in the region of £99,500 for one year. Based on the average number of kills carried out in South Tipperary on an annual basis, it is estimated that the revenue from fees as provided in the Abattoirs Act, 1988, will be in the region of £32,000, thus leaving a shortfall of approximately £67,000 for the year. I am sure there is a similar problem in every other local authority area, and I am also sure the Minister will appreciate we could spend that money in other ways as resources are so scarce.
In order therefore, to be in a position to meet the full requirements of the Act and the regulations, South Tipperary County Council would be faced with a shortfall of £67,000 which would have to be raised elsewhere. The implications of the coming into operation of the meat inspection regulations have been brought before the members of the council for their consideration. There was a lengthy debate at our county council meeting last Monday and the Oireachtas Members were requested to bring this to the notice of the Minister. I appeal to him to get this matter sorted out as soon as possible as it is an added burden on local authorities to have to dip into their limited resources.
I would like to thank you, a Chathaoirligh, very sincerely for your very cordial welcome and say that I very much appreciate your comments and also the comments made by my former colleague, Senator Seán Byrne. It is nice to return to one's former alma mater and to the relatively calm atmosphere of this excellent Chamber. I am delighted to be here in my capacity as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and also to be able to respond on my first day here, to a very important matter raised by Senator Byrne.
The Abattoirs Act, 1988, provides for standards of veterinary control and hygiene at local abattoirs supplying the home market which will be on a par to these applying at export plants in order to ensure that the domestic consumer can be assured of a quality product.
Under the Act each premises is required to undergo annual inspection and licensing by my Department. Since 1 September 1989 the regulations under the Act laying down the requirements for the construction and operation of abattoirs supplying the domestic market have been in force. Senator Byrne has already referred to that fact.
The day-to-day supervision of the abattoirs will be under the direct control of the local authority veterinary inspectorate who will conduct the ante and post-mortem examinations to establish the fitness of meat for human consumption and apply the health mark to fit meat.
Part V of the Act which provides for the collection of fees by local authorities in respect of veterinary examination of animals cannot be commenced until regulations are introduced to provide for the ante and post-mortem examinations of animals. A further complication has arisen in this regard as an EC directive has been adopted which sets standard charges to be levied in all slaughtering premises. The implementation of this directive will mean that the fee structure provided for by the Abattoirs Act will be superseded. For cattle and pig slaughtering this will mean a higher fee and the fee for sheep will be slightly reduced. The fees will be regularly reviewed to ensure that the real value of the income from the fee is maintained.
The delay in introducing the fees arises from the failure to introduce the veterinary examination regulations. These regulations are complex in that they have to state precisely how all stages of the ante- and post-mortem will be conducted and specify all of the grounds on which animals may not be passed as fit for human consumption. Since the drafting of the regulations commenced, they have had to be redrafted on two occasions to take account of the extension of EC standards to meat being produced for sale on the domestic market. The regulations are now in final form and will be introduced shortly when legal clearance for the draft is received.
I appreciate that local authorities who do not have local by-laws for the inspection of meat have not received the expected revenue and regret the difficulties caused. I want to assure this House that I am having the completion and introduction of these regulations treated as a priority.
I would also like to assure the public that, because of the high standards of our domestic butchers and the pride they take in the quality of their product they should not have concerns about the wholesomeness of the meat they purchase. The application of the operational standards ensures that the product is produced under the best possible conditions.
I appreciate the views expressed by Senator Byrne in relation to difficulties experienced by individual local authorities. They had anticipated, as he correctly identified, a revenue from this scheme from the time that they employed their veterinary inspectors. Regrettably, for the reasons I have outlined in my reply, it has not been possible to put those particular requirements and regulations in place.
These regulations are imposed on us by EC requirements. We did not have any choice in the matter. I realise that the regulations themselves are contentious in terms of their application in each local authority area. The structural requirements of the scheme, in terms of improvements to abattoirs, is something which, in my view, can be applied on a sliding scale. For example, the very high standards and requirements of the larger abattoirs may be scaled down to meet the requirements of the smaller butcher and, indeed, the butcher who, in many areas, has been in the practice of slaughtering animals for home consumption.
I would be very hopeful that, in the implementation of these regulations, the veterinary inspectors who will be employed by the various local authorities will be able to apply these regulations in a practical and understanding manner. They will be very highly qualified competent people. They will be in a position to interpret for themselves the hygiene regulations applied in each of these areas while at the same time they are bound by the EC regulations governing the scheme. Having said that, it is a question of their interpretation of how each individual abattoir is applying the standards.
I envisage difficulties for many local authorities in relation to the funding of this scheme. Senator Seán Byrne has given a very practical example of these difficulties where, obviously, there will be a shortfall in terms of the amount of money which the authority can generate from the scheme which is related to the number of animals slaughtered. He gave the example that, in his own situation, the annual cost would be £99,000 and the revenue from animals slaughtered would be £32,000, a very significant shortfall in terms of income for that particular local authority. That will be, in my view, reflected throughout many local authorities in the country.
I have had discussions this morning with senior officials of the Department. I brought this anomaly to their attention for further consideration. I feel it is a matter that will have to be addressed in terms of the overall funding of the scheme for the purpose of ensuring that the local authorities are not requested to carry a financial burden for which they did not budget in the first instance, and which many of them regard as being outside their normal role of operation. This is the best reply that I can give to Senator Byrne today.
I appreciate the difficulties which he has brought to my attention. As I have already indicated, I have had some brief discussions with Department officials. I have highlighted this problem; I feel it will have to be re-examined eventually, and amending regulations may even be introduced for the purpose of dealing with this serious anomaly.
The Seanad adjourned at 1.15 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 March 1992.