Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I compliment Members on their positive and constructive contributions to the debate on this important issue. I assure Deputy Creed that no member state contacted the Department or the Food Safety Authority of Ireland before Friday of last week. We issued a statement on Thursday night to indicate we had restricted farms where non-dioxin marker PCB levels had been found. It was subsequent to that — some time on Friday — that the Dutch authorities contacted us to inform us of the pattern of dioxins they had found in pork products that had gone through that country. The first publicity in regard to this potential incident was the press statement on restricted farms that was released by the Department on Thursday night.

I fully appreciate the points that have been made about the opening of the markets. As soon as this debate concludes, I will return to the Department to meet processors. The House may be aware that the Taoiseach and I met representatives of the processors, the Irish Farmers Association and individual producers in the Department at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. We discussed at length the difficulties that would arise from the decision that was about to be announced. We emphasised the need for all of us to work together to try to get processing up and running again. We shared the concern the Deputy has expressed about the "pig cycle", if one wants to call it that. We discussed the numbers that are coming down the line. We are all conscious that animal welfare issues can arise quickly in this context.

I am concerned that Deputy Creed, like Deputy Sherlock, who referred to the matter in his opening remarks, may have misunderstood the Taoiseach's comment about waiting for the European Food Safety Authority to give us clearance. That comment related to produce with a small percentage of pork, which is a different issue. The Department issued a notice to the trade on Sunday evening. We discussed the disposal problems that have been mentioned by Deputy Creed with the retailers on Sunday evening. The trade notice that was issued on Sunday evening advised those involved in this trade how they could get back into production the following day. On Sunday night——

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