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

I thank Professor Alan Reilly and the Minister for their very comprehensive presentations. It is a great pity that the Minister did not facilitate his officials and Professor Reilly by having them appear before this committee two weeks ago because most of the information given by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland relates to the period prior to 15 January. It would have been very useful if all the information had been put into the public domain immediately. This committee is probably the best place to make the information available because members, on behalf of the people who elect us, get an opportunity to ask relevant questions. The integrity of the beef industry is incredibly important to this country. As has been said, everything we do here is to ensure that confidence in the industry is maintained. We must ensure that if there is a problem, we get to the bottom of it and deal with it. It is important to stress there was no risk to human health.

A number of issues arise from the presentations. At what stage did Professor Reilly realise there was definitely a potentially serious problem? When he did, did he inform the relevant line Minister, the Minister for Health? The Food Safety Authority of Ireland was set up purposely under the Ministry for Health so we would not have industry capture. At what stage were the Minister for Health and his Department informed? At what stage was the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine informed? When it was asked for the samples in December, did it know there was a potential problem? At what level in the Department was the problem flagged? When the officials became aware of the issue, did they inform the Minister that there was an unproven, but potentially serious, problem that would have to be dealt with? It is important that there be clarity on that issue.

The information going to the Department is so important because the paper trail pertaining to the purchase of ingredients is the key. I accept that the level of pork contamination could be explained by the killing of the two species in the one factory. When the Department became aware of the problem, even if the likelihood thereof had been but 10 to 1 because horse DNA was not expected, did it immediately carry out an unannounced visit to the premises to inspect the books to determine the source of all incoming ingredients? The quicker this information is obtained, the lower the chance of something going wrong. Perhaps this could be clarified today. After Professor Alan Reilly became aware that there was a possibility of a problem, however small, was the Department informed and was an inspection carried out in the plants? Did those running the plants know before they were inspected that some issues had been identified? Knowing this is crucial. I accept that although the DNA samples proved positive, the quantity was not known and that this took a while to establish. Was all the contamination of beef by pork at such a low level as to be attributable to minor cross-contamination?

On 16 January, the Minister stated in the Dáil that a number of individual ingredients were imported into the State, specifically from Spain and Holland. Having heard what Professor Reilly said, it appears it was known at that stage that the traces were very small. Does the Minister now accept that this was not the source of the problem? He stated there was no evidence from the investigation conducted at the time to show the manufacturer knowingly bought in equine meat for use in the production of the burgers. Is this still his position?

Will the Minister outline the nature of the Garda investigation and the people and companies being investigated? Very early in the process, the issue of labelling must have become apparent to the Department. In other words, the Minister knew at the commencement of the investigation to find the source of the factories' ingredients that those ingredients had been imported. This must have put up a red flag indicating that there was incorrect labelling, given that the beefburgers were being sold as Irish.

Is the Minister absolutely sure that no Irish horsemeat is entering the food chain in this country, either directly or indirectly? Could we have categoric assurance in regard to this? Has the Minister raised the issue of standards? Considering that the Poles are stating they are not licensing horsemeat for ingredients or labelling it, has the Minister raised the issue of EU standards and controls at the meeting of the Council of Ministers and with the EU Commission? He is President of the Council at present. What steps have been taken at EU level to ensure other member states are applying the same standards we are applying? It is important that we recognise the first flaw is that people were mislabelling products by labelling as Irish products into which they were putting foreign ingredients. This is a European problem of mislabelling. It is a very great concern because, according to what the Minister stated earlier in the Dáil, purchasers did not realise what they were buying. Some 29% of the meat in the burgers was horsemeat, according to the professor. I presume Irish beef was the main ingredient. Does this mean that the extra, imported ingredients - the trimmings, I believe - were 100% horsemeat?

There are many serious questions to be asked. We need an independent investigation to get to the bottom of them and determine what is happening in regard to horsemeat in Europe, including Ireland.