To return to the point I was making last week, even if there is a prime quality product for export, there is a serious problem regarding the promotion and marketing of that product within the community. The Bill and any other plans of the Government to develop the beef industry will be futile unless a commitment is given to the marketing and promotion of Irish beef abroad. I am happy that last Friday the Minister, Deputy Walsh, went to Italy to promote Irish beef because until last November he, as Minister, made only six trips abroad to promote Irish beef – that trip brings the number of trips to seven. If the Government is talking about promoting and marketing beef throughout the European Union and the rest of the world, it is a pity the Minister, who claimed he would travel to the four corners of the earth when he was in Opposition, has not done so.
There are serious question marks over the future of the small and medium-sized beef producers and this has been highlighted by the recent blockade of meat factories. The Minister must look at alternative enterprises for those farmers. What will be the outcome of Leader III and how many communities will benefit from it? Will there be a reduction in the number of Leader groups? Will there be a reduction in their catchment areas? The Minister must ensure that there is off-farm employment for small farmers so that they have the opportunity to remain in their local community, produce a quality beef product and yet keep an income coming into their households. One can see the disillusionment among young farmers. A number of agricultural colleges have closed down and the installation aid and farm retirement schemes have been delayed until June or July next.
I am disappointed the Bill focuses on the primary producer only rather than on processing, the supermarkets and the further steps in the chain. It regulates for the primary producer only and not, as Deputy Upton stated last Thursday, from farm to fork. If we are realistic about quality and, as I said last Thursday, the need for added-value products, not just simple cuts of meat, it is crucially important to have a control system which applies throughout the system and not only to one element of it. That is the area in which the Bill is lacking and that is where it will ultimately fail.
I hope the Minister will answer these questions when replying. What controls will be in place for third country beef coming into the EU? What controls will be in place for second country beef, that is, beef which comes from other parts of the EU, into Ireland? I am particularly concerned about third country beef because we have no control over it. Depending on how the WTO negotiations in Seattle develop over the coming months, US and Argentinean beef could come into supermarkets in the same way as lamb is imported. There will not be the same regulation on that meat coming into the supermarkets and onto a family's table, yet we will hamper farmers with these regulations and guidelines.
The same is the case within the EU. Has the Minister discussed the possibility of broadening this on a European scale because it will hamper the competitiveness of farmers producing a product for the European market. One must remember that we cannot eat all the beef produced here so we must look at the broader view, that it will go into the European market and impose additional costs on the primary producer. There is no question about that and the Minister is unlikely to argue to the contrary.
Liability for quality and traceability in the beef sector is an issue which must be considered. When everything is up and running, one will be able to trace a cut of meat from the supermarket shelf back to the farmer who produced it. The goal is to be able to trace it. The Government is putting in place legislation on quality in relation to the primary producer.
That means that the meat can be traced back to the primary producer and, as far as this legislation is concerned, there are not any restrictions on the processor. If a person contracts food poisoning through e.coli 0157, for example, he could take a case against an individual farmer because things may not have been up to standard. While that is a hypothetical case, a situation could arise from something simpler, such as a broken needle being found in an animal carcase. The needle could have found its way there either through a farmer, a vet or others along the line. We have seen cases where these type of needles have been found in the pork curing process. A similar type of needle could be found in a carcase of beef which is being cured. What type of liability or onus is on the farmer in such a case? Has any consideration been given to the type and cost of insurance that farmers will require, given this traceability system which arises from the need for quality? There is a huge risk facing farmers, because while consumers will be able to pinpoint farmers, they may not be able to identify primary, secondary or tertiary processors. They will nail the farmer so the liability will fall to him and, in turn, he may have to place the onus on the processor.
The legislation will also require farmers to have a licence to farm. They must have their names on a register to be entitled to sell cattle, and their livelihoods will rely on such licences. Without them they will not be able to keep their businesses going. Section 17 deals with appeals against a refusal of the certificate of approval. If his licence to sell is removed, a farmer will have to make a case for reinstatement before the Circuit Court. That is unbelievably bureaucratic and the only people who stand to gain are the solicitors who take such cases.
While I agree with the Minister of State that such a system may be required at a later stage, a properly structured appeals system is needed, not like the bureaucratic one that currently operates in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. An independent appeals structure is required, similar to the office of the Ombudsman. Appeals made within the Department have failed, yet when a farmer takes his case to the Ombudsman, all of a sudden the decision changes within the Department. There must be an independent body outside the control of the Department. If a farmer fails in an appeal to that body then, well and good, he can take his case a step further to the Circuit Court. Bringing the Circuit Court in at an earlier stage, however, will only lead to solicitors making a fortune. In yesterday's newspapers we saw how well solicitors are doing from claims against the Department of Defence. A proper structure needs to be put in place to avoid a similar situation in the agriculture sector.
In the debate last Thursday, Deputy Upton mentioned that e.coli 0157 is not a notifiable disease. We have been slow to set up a database of notifiable diseases, especially bacterial ones, such as exists in other countries, including the United Kingdom. Consequently, it is difficult to determine where these outbreaks originate and whether there is a pattern involved, so that we can control and regulate them. It is crucially important that diseases like e.coli 0157 and other food-borne bacteria should be designated as notifiable diseases so they can be traced. In that way we can see if there is a repeat cause and if it is coming from a particular location. The legislation must deal with that matter along with the need to include processors and others involved in producing beef for the consumer's table.
Luckily enough, antibiotics have not come to the fore in our beef industry, although they have figured in many other countries. Intensive farming practices put animals under stress, making them more susceptible to disease and, therefore, they are being fed antibiotics. We have seen this happening within the Minister of State's own sector of the bacon industry where antibiotics have been commonly used for many years. It happens in the poultry sector also. Our sheep and cattle are mainly reared on grass, which means that production is less intensive, thus reducing the need for antibiotics. The opposite is the case, however, for agricultural products imported from other EU and non-EU countries which employ more inten sive farming practices. Over the years we have neglected that issue and are only now beginning to realise the importance of regulating antibiotics for farm animals. Recently, the issue has caused much controversy within the bacon sector.
We must be serious about combating bacterial resistance to antibiotics, as well as being mindful of the correlation to what people eat, because such resistance may be transferred from one microbe to another. The Minister of State should examine the Swan report which was published in the United Kingdom many years ago, as well as a recent report on this matter by the Food Safety Authority. I hope the Minister of State will get an opportunity to reply to some of the queries I have raised.