Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

First, we were all horrified by what we saw in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme. There is no doubt about that. It is very disappointing. It is very important to say that Ireland has an excellent food safety system and food safety record across all of the species, but it is clear in the case of horses - despite compliance with EU rules and the EU framework - that we have a system that is capable of circumvention if people are determined to do that. We are convinced that a root and branch review must be done. There are a number of strands to that. I do not want to say too much about the welfare issues that arose. It is very important that I do not say anything here that might prejudice the ongoing investigation. That is not a defensive point. I sincerely do not want to say anything to prejudice the investigation.

It is important to state that we did not see the welfare issues that were brought to light in the programme taking place in the slaughter plant. It is clear that there are welfare issues involved. The second point is that there are traceability issues. People have an obligation to register horses, to have a passport for them and to microchip them. That is a legal obligation on people. There may be people who do not comply with those requirements, but what is critically important is that where there are instances of non-compliance, those horses cannot get into the food chain.

What we saw in the programme suggests it is possible to circumvent that system. We must look at how we can fix it. For me, there are three tests. The first is that whatever we do, it must be lawful. We must make sure we are doing the right thing from a legal perspective. The second point is that it must be effective. We could throw a whole lot of stuff at this now, very quickly, and it may not work. When we do it, I want to be sure it is effective. The third point is that if there are unintended consequences, I want to understand what they are. We have asked Professor Paddy Wall to join a group in the Department to examine these issues very quickly and come up with as many solutions as we can, as quickly as we can. Some of them will require engagement at Commission level and with other member states, because it is clear that there is an international aspect to this. Horses are being transported overseas and it is important to improve traceability across those borders.

It is lawful to export horses and to have them slaughtered. There are lawful means of disposing of horses, but the practices we saw in that programme did not meet those standards. We must deal with all of those things. It is a wake-up call. There is absolutely no doubt about it. We are determined to deal with it as quickly as we can, but we want to do it properly.