I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, and join him in complimenting the farming organisations and companies. I also commend the tremendous civic spirit that has been evident since the outbreak in Northern Ireland. People have responded well in terms of preventing an outbreak here that could be disastrous. I hope such an outbreak will not occur, but it is worth reminding ourselves of the dire consequences if Ireland is contaminated by foot and mouth disease.
I understand why the legislation is necessary, although some people said it is draconian. We have witnessed the country almost coming to a halt in terms of the movement of people in an effort to prevent the disease spreading, but we should consider what would happen if there was an outbreak. Ireland would lose its disease free status and, as a result, most of its food export markets. The ban would remain in place for at least six months and this would have dire consequences for the country. It is important to understand the consequences and the need for the implementation of the legislation as soon as possible.
Some economists suggest the potential loss to the economy could be approximately £1 billion in terms of our exports, which account for 90% of our food production. One should consider the number of people who would be affected, particularly farmers and workers in the food processing industry. There would be a domino effect in rural Ireland in addition to the problems of the shrinking population and the decline of services. There would be an effect in relation to the money that passes through rural areas and this would impact on services there.
Regarding consumers, Senator Quinn said certain people who do not have links with farming and the country are unclear about the nature of foot and mouth disease. They were concerned that it would affect humans. They just about understood the position in relation to BSE, but they linked that problem to foot and mouth disease. There should be much more proactivity on the part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in this regard. It should use libraries, local authorities and schools to make the importance of farming to the economy clear. It should also produce various notices about diseases that can spread and place them in schools. This is done in relation to human diseases and it should be done in relation to animal diseases given the extreme importance of the food industry and agriculture to the economy.
The public do not want much, but they will demand traceability – they should do this as of right – and safety in relation to food. They should be guaranteed it. If they do not get it, the level of meat consumption will fall. Undoubtedly, the level of meat sales and consumption fell as a result of BSE. People will now worry about poultry because the Bill refers to animal and poultry products. People may be confused in relation to the legislation, but I hope that is not the case.
In terms of the need to make the position clear to people, consumers should get as much information as possible in a simple manner. There has been tremendous media coverage, much of it negative, including widespread coverage on television. The small excerpts presented nightly by Mairéad McGuinness probably did much more to help than all the documents and newspaper articles. The information was direct and consistent and Ms McGuinness repeated the message, which was important.
I worry about smuggling, but the problem will be difficult to resolve. The Bill does not mention how many authorised officers will be located along the Border. It will be a major challenge for them, but I am sure we will get that information at a later stage. There should not be such a big problem in relation to the Border. At a plenary session of the EU agricultural committee, it was stated that Border surveillance was a matter for member states, but if evidence was found, the member state concerned must investigate. It was also stated that the Commission has a direct interest in ensuring that is done. In reply to questions from British MEPs about whether criminal charges could be brought against fraudsters, the Commissioner said that while it was not his duty to require prosecutions, he felt they could be appropriate in the circumstances. This was stated during a discussion in the European Parliament about the outbreak of foot and mouth disease at the end of February. I am most concerned about this aspect. Senator Ross spoke about the problem of smuggling for much of his contribution and he said it happened not only in Armagh. He also said it would be difficult to stamp out.
During the discussion in the European Parliament, the EU Commissioner, Mr. David Byrne, said that imports from third countries were subject to extremely strict controls and had to be certified as coming from regions free from foot and mouth disease. I would like to know how the disease entered the UK. It was reported that it arose from swill from airlines, but it has also been stated that the disease entered the UK through an airport. As I said during the Order of Business on many occasions last week, I am concerned about reports of people hill walking in Northumbria and then singing in choir competitions in Wales without taking any precautions in terms of disinfectant. The measures in this regard should not be relaxed, although I do not know how long the Minister intends such measures to continue. When the crisis has diminished, I hope we will continue to be as concerned and thorough in this regard as we are at present.
The Bill provides that a person who purchases an animal may not sell or move that animal from his lands, save under permit, for a period of 30 days. Perhaps the co-operatives and marts could be more proactive in linking farmers. For instance, if farmer A has good calves for sale, the co-operative should put farmer B, who is anxious to buy the animals, in contact with farmer A. This would mean minimal movement, even though a haulier would be involved. I would like marts and co-operatives to be more proactive.
I was in Iowa this time last year, which is an extraordinarily important state within the United States in the context of farming. I visited one farm where the farmer was doing all her business through e-mail. I would think there are very few farms at the moment where there are not computers. Children use computers all the time and any farms in Limerick East which I have visited had computers. Many young farmers and farmers' children use computers to check many items, including the weight and feedstuffs of animals. The farmer in Iowa was doing all her buying and selling through e-mail. While I was visiting her, she had been on to three marts to buy animals. This is essential in a large state which has a population approximately the same size as Ireland. There was no problem in this regard. The farmer did not just do her wheeling and dealing in the state of Iowa, she bought her animals in other states also.