Pádraic McCormack
Ceist:32 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the requirements of the national beef assurance scheme are being adhered to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14057/02]
Written Answers. - National Beef Assurance Scheme.
The traceability elements of the National Beef Assurance Scheme have been fully operational since 1 January 2000. It was envisaged that other aspects of the scheme and in particular the inspection and approval of farms would be undertaken this year in tandem with the annual round of testing. In this regard, detailed discussions took place with Veterinary Ireland and its predecessor organisation as well as the representative farming organisations over a long period concerning the inspection of farms. It was decided that the inspections should be carried out by the veterinary surgeon at the time of the annual herd test and a protocol for the conduct of the inspections was agreed. However, while the necessary arrangements were made to have inspections commenced in tandem with the 2002 annual round of testing, only a small number of inspections have been completed to date because of resistance mainly from veterinarians whose union is seeking a centralised payment system for the costs involved.
In this context, the legislation passed by the Oireachtas establishing the scheme clearly provides that the cost of securing a certificate of approval is the responsibility of the applicant. In any event, the Exchequer has already invested some €43 million in developing the cattle identification and traceability system that underpins the scheme and costs continue to be incurred under this heading.
The national beef assurance scheme was designed to provide additional assurances to consumers and customers of Irish beef by demonstrating strict implementation of high standards across the production chain. The scheme is an important element in the drive to maintain marketplace in a sector recovering from serious difficulty. I am disappointed with recent developments and I would strongly urge all parties to lend their support at this stage to the delivery of the scheme.
Question No. 33 answered with Question No. 11.