Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The Minister of State will be aware that many family butchers are under significant financial pressures currently, and many are going out of business. The loss of that sector of the market would be bad from a farmer's point of view as it provides some kind of competition to the big meat plants. It also gives variety to the consumer, which is critically important.

Scientific advice is currently that animals under 30 months do not need to be tested and there is no risk associated with BSE for animals under that age. Why is there a 24-month rule when a 30-month rule is already in place that considers the matter from a scientific basis?

When will the European Food Safety Authority make a decision on the issue? The difficulty is that with beef up to 24 months, the bone to meat ratio is quite high. As a result, there are significant additional costs on butchers boning out animals themselves or having to pay a meat plant or abattoir up to €500 for every four animals boned out. As this is putting considerable financial pressure on the butchers, will the Minister of State indicate a timetable on the matter?

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