Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Oct 2001

Vol. 542 No. 5

Written Answers. - Beef Exports.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

146 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress which has been made regarding efforts to reopen the beef trade with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25110/01]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

It is the policy of this Government that every export market should be open to Irish beef and no effort is being spared by my Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs or An Bord Bia to bring this about. Each of our important export markets, particularly Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, is being dealt with in whatever way is most appropriate to the circumstances prevailing in that market. The strategy adopted in each case is kept under constant review by my Department having regard to advice from our embassies on the ground and from An Bord Bia. Opportunities afforded by ministerial visits to the region were availed of to press Ireland's case for a reopening of those markets.

Furthermore, a senior veterinary official of my Department visited Saudi Arabia and a number of Gulf states to follow up on earlier contacts with the relevant authorities in those countries to brief them on the many layers of BSE controls in place in Ireland and the guarantees those controls offer to consumers of Irish beef. Within the past ten days, meetings were held in the Irish Embassy in Riyadh with the importing agencies with a view to progressing the effort to reopen the market. This was attended by an An Bord Bia representative from Dublin. We will continue to press for re-opening of beef markets at every possible opportunity and I am confident that our recent success with the Egyptian market, our largest market, will encourage other markets in the region to follow suit.