Vol. 477 No. 2
288 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he will give details of the traceability procedures put in place to ensure that reinforcing steel used in grant-aided farm buildings complies with British Standard BS449 further to his reply to an Adjournment Debate on 19 March 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8983/97]
In the reply in the 19 March Adjournment Debate, there was no suggestion that my Department had introduced a new traceability procedure for reinforcing steel in grant-aided farm structures. Indeed, the Minister of State explained that, as there is no national or industry scheme for certified traceable steels, it was not feasible for my Department to introduce one unilaterally. Moreover, there does not seem to be any necessity for such a move: the Department, as was stated, has no evidence that inferior steel is being used, and no failures have been recorded in any structure where reinforcing steel has been correctly installed.
The Department's specifications for grant-aided structures require that reinforcing steels comply with British Standards BS4449. Any applicant farmers in our grant schemes may request, if they wish, written confirmation from their contractors or suppliers that all reinforcing steel conforms to that specification. If a national or EU scheme is introduced, then my Department will, of course, co-operate in the necessary procedures.
