Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I thank my colleague for sharing time. While it is his brief, I wish to say a few words because I have some knowledge of this area.

I endorse the Minister's decision on behalf of the people last week, as it was a matter of national interest. We are well on our way back to market recovery. It will take some time because some organs of the media carried adverse publicity and used inflammatory and unwarranted terms.

It is important that we have a properly integrated system of identification and traceability in terms of all foodstuffs sold. As Deputy Brady is aware, it is easy to have traceability from the farm to the factory. The cattle movement monitoring system, CMMS, brings the process to a certain point, but what occurs after an animal goes into layerage? I once visited France as a member of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to try to identify sheep so that we could measure the impact of how the French advocate their own products to consumers. I remember well how a little French flag was placed in lamb on display. As Europeans, we are too good. We are reticent to show people the green, white and gold on our fine product and to tell them that it is traceable the entire way. It is the best product in the world.

There also appears to be a European reticence to country of origin labelling. The Minister should take Europe on and tell it to get lost, as the labelling must be done. There are idiotic ideas about substantial transformation, where something is supposedly manufactured or processed in Ireland if one throws a package of breadcrumbs on a basic product that comes from an external country. It is a nonsense. Deputy Edward O'Keeffe asked a necessary question forcefully. How is it that, within three or four hours of the announced withdrawal, some of our shelves were packed with hams and processed goods? They were already in stock and ready to hit the market.

We are not doing enough. We must call on everyone to put their shoulders to the wheel. We have a fine product and one little hiccup should not be used by people who want to say that there is an issue. Deputy Brady's committee and mine, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, respectively, will tell the Commissioner in plain Meath and Westmeath language what we want. It is time to stop kowtowing to eurocrats. Instead, we should tell them that we want country of origin labelling. The same situation obtained in terms of Brazil. We have strict regulations due to foot and mouth disease and BSE. Everything is in its place. It is about time.

I am generally not critical. However, I am critical of the waste management scheme. The Government met at Farmleigh House, but the Labour Party has been advocating the building of schools. Some 400 need to be built, a labour intensive project that would give construction workers a chance. The farm waste management scheme could be another project. Only half of the total number of people in question have submitted applications to the Department. There will either be a flood of applications between now and 31 December or many eligible applicants will be prevented from carrying out necessary work aimed at protecting the environment. What will be the position in respect of these people? The Minister had the ideal opportunity to extend the scheme. I accept that he probably fought hard in respect of it but I am sure, due to the fact that there was money involved, it was the Department of Finance which put the kibosh on it.

The closing date for the scheme is 31 December 2008 and there is a stipulation that there can be no additional entrants. The scheme provided people with the opportunity to carry out vital work. However, it also provided much needed employment in rural areas where construction workers are being laid off. In recent months, farmers obtained good value because people began to submit competitive tenders to carry out the building work they required. All these farmers would have required was an extension of three to four months in order that the work might be carried out after the winter. There were three or four months during the summer when the weather was so bad one would not have put a snipe out on one's land because it would not have survived. It is for these reasons I cannot understand why the scheme has not been extended.

I have heard that a new invigilation or inspection regime is going to be put in place and that local authorities will be given responsibility for it. I hope this will not lead to duplication or even triplication. The officials from the Department carry out examinations in respect of the matters under discussion and these are extremely satisfactory in nature. Like me, I am sure the Minister does not wish to see duplication arise in respect of such examinations.

See this speech in context