Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's confirmation that there is no suggestion or suspicion that anything illegal or untoward was taking place at Silvercrest, at Liffey Meats, at Rangeland Meats or at McAdam Food Products, all located in my constituency of Cavan and Monaghan. That is very important for each of those concerns, for their futures and for the futures of those who depend on them for their jobs, their livelihoods and their dependants' needs. I commend the "on the factory floor" workforces at each of those plants for their adherence to the highest standards of food safety and production. That said, the need for strict adherence to contractual arrangements, and for fully responsible oversight by parent companies of subsidiaries across the sector, are lessons that must be learned. Those are lessons for management.

Despite the obvious uncertainties of the weeks since 15 January, the commendable openness and transparency of the testing process set in train, and I have no hesitation in commending the Minister and his Department officials in that regard, has brought us to the cusp of a new and more certain future where domestic public confidence in the Irish beef-based product sector can and will be matched by an international willingness again to laud and applaud Ireland's world leadership role in setting standards in the quality of raw materials used, the production lines in place and the end user produce.

Ireland has - it can again - occupied the premier position on the world stage for food quality and safety. That is a precious position for our country, our economy and all those engaged in agriculture and food production and processing. It is unacceptable, therefore, that anyone or any commercial entity would carelessly or wilfully jeopardise that reputation. I have no hesitation in making it clear to the Minister that every measure should be seriously considered in his and his Department's address of those fault lines in the systems and practices now identified. They should include prosecution where false labelling or the withholding of crucial information is concerned. The suppression of key information by any player in the sector that would alert not only the Minister and the Department but all others, including their competitors, is wholly unacceptable. I have already - I do so again - urged the Minister to introduce legislation to make the reporting to the Minister and his Department of all irregular test results compulsory, with severe consequences for non-compliance.

I have many questions. However, I will confine them to a small number that are of particular concern for me, not having had an opportunity to examine properly the Minister's report. I ask the Minister to confirm, if he can, the future of the Silvercrest operation and the jobs that depend on it. When will the current "bute" testing survey conclude? Will the Minister clearly state that there has not been a risk to human health by virtue of the horsemeat content discovered through the testing process? What sanctions or further actions is the Minister considering where serious failures or wrongdoing have been uncovered? Will the Minister introduce legislation to compel all players in the sector to report any and all irregularities that show in the course of in-house testing?

I thank the Minister again. Deputy Martin Ferris has already recorded my appreciation to the Minister for his accessibility and the accessibility of his office and Department officials.

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