As a result of an EU-wide ban on the feeding of meat and bonemeal, MBM, to farmed animals, which came into effect from the beginning of 2001, MBM was transformed from a commercially valuable product into a waste material with a significant disposal cost. Various subsidies were implemented in member states to facilitate the rendering industry in facing this challenge and to help the animal production and slaughter sectors adapt to the new situation. My Department instituted payments to the rendering sector at the time based on the production of MBM, which payments have been progressively reduced and totally phased out with effect from 31 May 2003. The total amount paid to the rendering sector in Ireland in the period since the feed ban came to €146 million.
My Department continues to provide a subsidy towards the cost of storing and disposing of MBM produced prior to December 2003. An amount of approximately 170,000 tonnes of MBM is currently stored in this country pending destruction. The requirement to export MBM for disposal is a cost for the livestock sector which has become more apparent with the cessation of the subsidy. The meat processing sector has sought to reduce the cost of rendering and one of the options explored has been the export of offal to Northern Ireland for rendering and landfill disposal there.
The movement of offal, from one member state to another, once taken from animals passed fit for human consumption, is provided for under the new EU animal by-products legislation. It is clear that the subsidy payments have ended that the main advantage to Northern Ireland renderers is the availability to them of lower cost disposal of MBM by means of landfill, rather than any differentiation in subsidy payments. Clearly, the solution to this is to have acceptable disposal outlets for MBM in this country which would help maintain the competitiveness of our livestock sector and limit the dependence on other member states for ongoing disposal of the by-product of our slaughter sector.
