Vol. 485 No. 4
11 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food when he will introduce a package of measures to assist local abattoirs to upgrade their premises to meet the demanding standards under the Abattoirs Act, 1988 and EU Regulations. [23215/97]
60 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans, if any, he has to assist small private abattoirs to upgrade their facilities in line with the regulations laid down by his Department and in accordance with EU regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23323/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 60 together.
I received a comprehensive submission from the small abattoir group of the Irish Butchers' Association in relation to proposed amendments to the Abattoirs Act, 1988 (Abattoirs) Regulations, 1989, which are necessary to fully implement Council Directive 91/497/EEC and Council Directive 95/23/EC. I subsequently met with representatives of the association to discuss the submission.
Officials of my Department recently met representatives of the association to discuss, in particular, the proposed amendments to the Abattoirs Act, 1988 (Abattoirs) Regulations, 1989. Detailed clarification was provided at that meeting about the standards required and the procedural arrangements which are being put in place to address the particular concerns of small abattoirs. It has not been possible to provide aid from the resources available to my Department.
