Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have some very specific questions. Was there a worry about the possibility of horsemeat contamination that prompted the specific testing for equine material? The Minister mentioned that specific testing for equine material was carried out. If the FSAI thought such contamination was the most unlikely thing in the world it probably would not have done so. Was there a worry that prompted that?

Does he accept that if we took a very small random sample from all factories producing beefburgers, one of which is producing 200 million burgers a year, one would have a better chance of winning the national lottery or the EuroMillions than of getting a positive result if this was not a pervasive and continuous practice? Therefore, we must extrapolate that the likelihood is that this was quite continuous and pervasive.

The next question is technical. Is it possible by DNA matching to determine the origin of the horsemeat? My understanding is that it is sometimes possible to say that DNA comes from a certain breed in a certain area and in that way, one could find the source of the horsemeat independent of labelling. Would it be possible, by taking DNA samples from horses in Ireland or Poland, to eliminate any rumours that are circulating?

The Minister did not tell me when the Department of Health, as the parent Department, was informed. Things have changed in the past few years. When I was a Minister, if there was anything that might have become a problem, one was informed about it on a confidential basis and one kept it to one's self. I was told many things that might have been problems but turned out not to be and that was the end of it. I was a bit surprised the Minister was not told earlier about it. It is a change of practice.