I thank you, Sir, for allowing me to raise this issue. I wish the Cathaoirleach a speedy recovery and I appreciate the Minister's presence in the House.
At a recent meeting of South Tipperary County Council a detailed discussion took place on the Abattoirs Act, 1988, and in particular on the cost of operating meat inspection procedures as required by the regulations. Arising from those discussions I am raising this urgent matter on the Adjournment. I would like to outline the council's response to the requirements of the Abattoirs Act, 1988, and the regulations made thereunder.
Since the introduction of the legislation dealing with meat inspection, South Tipperary County Council has taken a responsible approach to its operation notwithstanding the high costs involved. The present staff complement for the operation of the legislation is as follows: one permanent, fulltime county veterinary officer; two wholetime, temporary veterinary surgeons; and one part-time, temporary veterinary surgeon. These vets are mainly engaged in the operation of the abattoir regulations, particularly in carrying out ante and post-mortem inspections and fixing stamps to the meat. The estimated cost of the scheme's operation this year is £166,000 and the estimated receipts for fees total £35,000. Therefore, the net cost to the council of operating this scheme is estimated at £131,000 for 1995.
That is quite a lot of money, given the scarce resources available to most local authorities and it is a burden that no council should have to carry, even though I am well aware that the purpose of these regulations is to ensure proper public health standards in abattoirs and family butchers' slaughterhouses. It is expected that the most recent increase in fees provided for under the European Communities (Fees for Health Inspection and Control of Fresh Meat) Regulations, 1995, will generate additional revenue to the council to the value of £1,600 this year, thus giving rise to a revised shortfall of approximately £129,000.
When this EC Directive, along with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry regulations, came into force in 1988, it was supposed to be operated by all local authorities and other bodies responsible for dealing with meat. To date, however, only five authorities are operating the scheme. South Tipperary operates the scheme to the letter of the law but the other four are operating it partially. This results in an unfair playing field for family butchers, who have to compete with people in the Border counties who can get their cattle slaughtered more cheaply. The old saying has it that "Tipperary leads and Ireland follows", but I do not want to see the family butchers of south Tipperary, or the council, being martyrs for the cause.
Since we joined the European Union we have gone stark raving mad over the reams of regulations that have been introduced. Under successive Governments, EU regulations have become a growing industry. Our implementation of every regulation to the letter of the law has cost many jobs and much money to individuals. Members of South Tipperary County Council noted that the 1995 regulations, referred to above, also made provision for the imposition of a levy on abattoir owners to recover the difference between the cost of operating the service and the amount realised from fees. There are 28 abattoir owners in south Tipperary and if the levy was applied to recover the shortfall it would increase the existing fees payment fivefold in 1996. In other words, it would put all the family butchers out of business. Whether a family business is a public house, a small grocery or a butcher's shop, were it not for the unpaid labour undertaken by family members, many would have gone out of business long ago. That would be a sad day for Ireland.
I hope the Minister will look sympathetically at this problem, which has serious implications for abattoir owners in south Tipperary. Council members felt that the proposal to allow local authorities to apply a levy on abattoir owners would prove difficult to operate in view of the level of charge required. Naturally, there would be resistance and people would drop out of the scheme, causing all kinds of problems. Council members also felt that with costs increasing each year, there is no guarantee that this council will be in a position to continue the same level of inspections in future, particularly with its funds cut in other areas such as roads.
In view of the impact that any additional levy could have on abattoirs — and by that I mean family butchers' domestic abattoirs — council members have suggested the following alternatives: (a) The shortfall in the cost of operating the scheme should be met by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; (b) an adequate subsidy should be provided to abattoir operators by the Department to offset all or part of the proposed levy; or (c) responsibility for the operation of the scheme should be taken up directly by the Department. Regardless of whether the scheme is taken up by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry alone or together with the Department of Health, this additional burden should not be imposed on any local authority or family business. My primary concern is to protect the family butcher who is obliged to operate this scheme at enormous cost, as well as protecting the local authority from shouldering the financial burden of operating the scheme.
I appeal to the Minister to clarify the matter urgently. I have brought the issue to the attention of MEPs, who have raised it in the European Parliament. It has also been discussed by the European Commission, which proposes to relax the strict rules for small-scale slaughterhouses. These regulations have already been criticised for being too bureaucratic and for sending many family businesses to the wall because they could not afford to comply.
Despite the overzealous application of the rules, they have been blatantly ignored in certain counties here as well as in other EU countries. In holy Ireland we are crucifying people who have reasonably high standards and are trying to put them out of business. There should be a little more cop on in all Departments and, within reason, we should not go overboard.
A group of EU inspectors recently arrived, unannounced, from Greece of all places. They went around the south of Ireland visiting meat factories and family butchers. The report they sent back was terrible. We all know the standard of food in their country — you would want to watch what you eat there. There is no level playing pitch with regard to standards. I made inquiries at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry last week about the Commission's intentions and they did not know what I was talking about.
