Vol. 527 No. 3
34 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the steps being taken to secure the re-opening of the Egyptian market for Irish beef, having regard to the potentially severe consequences for Irish agriculture; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28669/00]
The recent decision by the Egyptian authorities to suspend the issue of import licences to western European countries, including Ireland, was taken to allow them take account of the BSE developments within the EU and to assess the measures and decisions being taken to deal with the situation. The developments I refer to relate to the situation in certain other member states and not to Ireland's situation.
Given that Egypt is our largest market world wide for Irish beef, the Government takes very seriously any situation which would jeopardise that market and has taken immediate action to deal with the difficulty that has arisen. To begin with, our ambassador in Cairo has been in contact with the Egyptian authorities and has outlined the facts in relation to BSE in Ireland.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development spoke with the Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Dr. Wali last week and impressed upon him the importance of the market to Ireland, the quality and safety controls in place in Ireland and the guarantees which can be given to consumers of Irish beef.
The Taoiseach raised this issue by phone with President Mubarak on Friday last and briefed him on the full facts about Irish beef exports and requested him to avoid taking definitive action which may damage this trade. Senior officials of my Department are currently in Egypt for meetings with high ranking Egyptian officials, during which they will outline in detail the level of BSE controls in place in Ireland. Their message to the Egyptians is that the controls offer the maximum possible assurances of safety to consumers of Irish beef.
The Minister is currently on his way to Cairo to meet the Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister to bring him fully up-to-date on the situation and to further argue in favour of Ireland's extensive controls. He will also brief the Egyptians on the latest developments at EU level and the range of measures agreed to deal with BSE in Europe. Therefore, it is clear that every possible effort is being made to secure a lifting of the temporary suspension of licences in Egypt.
Our good wishes go with the Minister and we hope his efforts will be successful, as they should be. Does he agree that the Government should consider taking action at EU level against France and Germany which failed to implement appropriate measures to minimise concern about BSE – measures such as SRM, comprehensive traceability, testing any group of animals in which an incident occurs and the ban on meat and bonemeal in ruminant rations? These measures have been in place in Ireland for the past four years. Why was a coherent strategy not introduced at EU level? Did the EU believe this matter was confined by borders? This is a trans-frontier, trans-border issue and should be tackled as such. Does the Minister agree we are paying for the sins of our EU neighbours who failed to take appropriate action? Does he also agree that Egypt is not greatly concerned about the safety of our beef but that its action was aimed at incidents which arose in another EU country? The Egyptian action is affecting Irish farmers, particularly winter fatteners who face impoverishment.
I appreciate the remarks made by Deputy Penrose. The situation first arose in mid-October when one of the major mul tiples in France purchased livestock from a dealer or farmer which was found to include an animal with BSE. Things have snowballed since then across Europe. We are most affected as we have the largest volume of beef to export. The other countries produce sufficient beef for domestic supply. The problem has snowballed in places such as France and Germany to our disadvantage, and we are the major sufferers for that reason.
I cannot say what action can be taken against both countries by the EU, be it legal or otherwise, but it is an issue of concern and will be followed up.
Is it the position that the Egyptian authorities have no quibble or complaint about the quality of Irish beef? The Taoiseach has had discussions with President Mubarak and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development had discussions with the Egyptian authorities prior to him visiting there today. Is it not the case that they are worried by the way in which other EU member states have handled the matter, which has precipitated the crisis? What steps can the Government take at national and EU level to compensate winter fatteners and beef finishers, the numbers of whom have been decreasing over the past few years and who have tried to survive this year? We are talking about a decrease of £100 per head while £800 million has been wiped off the value of stock. Does the Government anticipate bringing forward budgetary or other measures, complementing EU efforts, to ensure the survival of people who are threatened if they do not get help soon?
We supply two thirds of the Egyptian beef market, or between 157,000 and 160,000 tonnes, worth about £200 million. We are very aware of the difficulties of beef fatteners and that their number is becoming fewer each year and that we will have no off-season beef if some protection is not put in place. The Minister is on his way to Cairo and tonight he will meet Mr. Wali, the Deputy Prime Minister. There will be a beef management meeting in Brussels on 12 December 2000 which will discuss the mechanism for intervention. I take it they will also discuss the pricing arrangement and the animal destruct scheme, the scheme to deal with animals over 30 months who are found to be infected.
