Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 March 2017
171. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to establish an island of Ireland food label to address the issue of nomad cattle that have spent time in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and therefore cannot be labelled as origin Ireland or origin UK at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14697/17]
View answerThe labelling of food in the European Union is governed by a number of EU regulations which lay down strict requirements including in relation to mandatory country of origin labelling for certain meats.
Under EU rules, labels on meat from cattle born and reared in the Republic of Ireland and exported live to Northern Ireland and subsequently slaughtered there, must include the member state of birth and rearing, and the member state of slaughter.
It is possible to include a voluntary label, but this may not contradict mandatory origin labelling, nor does it obviate the requirement for mandatory labelling. The possibility of a voluntary all Island label has been previously raised with British retailers, who have made clear that they have a longstanding policy to market British and Irish beef separately, with a simple, clear origin label. This means that beef must be sourced from animals originating in one EU Member State i.e. born, reared and slaughtered in Ireland or in the United Kingdom, so that the label can simply indicate "Origin Ireland, or "Origin UK".
While voluntary labelling of this nature has been mooted as a mechanism to encourage a live export trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland, it must be noted that this trade is determined by a range of factors, including the Sterling exchange rate and the supply of cattle in each market, retailer preferences and production cycles.
I met my counterpart from Northern Ireland, Michelle McIlveen MLA on many occasions to discuss issues of mutual interest and of course the north-south trade in cattle and beef has featured in these discussions. Needless to say the focus now is on minimising the effects of the UK’s proposed withdrawal from the EU and on securing arrangements which are best suited to the development of our respective agrifood sectors.
