Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. However, Members must be careful about what they say here. My information to date is there certainly was not a blatant and deliberate misleading of the court by a staff member of my Department. There were other witnesses involved in the case who were not Department vets and I certainly will wait until a thorough review has been conducted on what happened in this case before making detailed comments in respect of it, as opposed to relying on media coverage.

My Department deploys its control and inspectorate staff to ensure food safety, animal health and animal welfare and to safeguard expenditure of public funds. The inspections carried out and the controls applied underpin and safeguard public confidence in agricultural production in Ireland and contribute to a significant export market. Inspections are carried out in a professional unbiased manner by appropriately trained officers. The outcome of my Department's investigations occasionally lead to charges being brought before the courts. The controls applied by my Department are well appreciated and respected in the international market place and provide confidence to consumers all over the world in the Irish agrifood industry, including the beef sector.

I take it that the Deputy in his question is referring to recent media reports concerning a particular case in County Cavan. A number of departmental staff were involved in an investigation in 2009, which led to a Circuit Court hearing taking place, which concluded last week. The local regional office staff had initiated an investigation and subsequently, on the basis of its complexity, had referred it to the special investigation unit of the Department. It is important to note the SIU continued the investigation in conjunction with the Garda. This investigation was carried out over a period, following which a file was prepared and submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP.

The DPP, independent of the Department, decided that certain charges would be brought forward for prosecution. Within the court system, the onus of proof, as always, lies solely with the prosecution. The levels of proof required in a criminal case are high and rightly so. The judge in this case, having listened to the evidence offered by the prosecution and the counter-arguments put forward by the defence counsel, decided the prosecution case was not sustainable and directed that the jury should bring in a verdict of not guilty by direction of the court. No one is contesting that. Certain selected comments attributed to the judge have been carried in the media. When a presiding judge criticises the prosecution of any case, this warrants a comprehensive review and I have ordered such a full review within my Department, which I expect to be carried out quickly. This review is currently under way and is informed by a report from the prosecuting counsel. I expect it will take approximately one week and I will revert to the Deputy with its details when I have them to hand. I happily will go through it in some detail with the Deputy because he clearly is concerned by the case.

Contrary to the proposition being put forward by the Deputy, there was no publicly exposed misconduct on the part of any departmental staff member, although, obviously, I will wait for a full review before giving a comprehensive answer in this regard.

I do not accept the broader accusation that this issue has somehow undermined confidence in the food safety control systems in Ireland. The special investigation unit, SIU, by its very nature, must be robust in dealing with very difficult cases and, in some cases, with very difficult people. The job involves difficult relationships and investigations. In this case, if the SIU got it wrong, that needs to be reviewed and exposed and we need to ensure systems are in place to prevent a recurrence. It has nothing to do with undermining the credibility or the robustness of the food safety systems.

See this speech in context