Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Professor Reilly for coming before the committee. I have questions for both of them. Has the Minister and his Department knowledge of how long these bulking agents that have affected our precious beef industry been used in these processing plants? Following on from the Minister's statement and one of his earlier comments, why would Silvercrest buy from Poland through three different channels - a meat trader in Ireland, one in the UK and directly? Has anybody in the Department measured the commercial gain or margin that would have been gained by the likes of Silvercrest by putting 29% equine material into a beefburger? If we lived in France, what would be the difference in price per kilo between beef and horsemeat because we need to educate ourselves in this area?

Is testing on all our meat processors being stepped up and are any other processes or meat traders under suspicion at present? I admire the investigation that the Minister is pushing and the fact that he brought in the fraud squad. The law is the law but if I have a big contract with Burger King, say my product is 100% beef but do not give it to Burger King, I have not broken the law. I will probably just lose my business. Once the Minister finishes his investigations, I hope there will be consequences and I want him to ask whether there will be consequences for the companies involved. They are not just affecting themselves and their own livelihoods; they are affecting the entire Irish beef industry.

We confirmed that Silvercrest does not slaughter its own animals but we must note that it only makes up 4% of the ABP food group. That is an enormous beef industry. Previous speakers asked us to make sure there were no connections between any of its other companies in these investigations. Could the Minister confirm the report in The Irish Times and let us know how things are going with Poland? According to the report by Derek Scally, who is in Warsaw, there is upset in Poland. The article stated:

"Such accusations not grounded by any sound evidence are inacceptable, regardless of what they pertain to," Stanislaw Kalemba, Poland's minister for agriculture told The Irish Times. He noted how many recent food scares ended with the first countries named as culprits later cleared.

Could the Minister clear up the situation between himself and Poland? When will we have exact evidence and when will Poland put up its hands up and say it was responsible?