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

I join Deputy Calleary in expressing disappointment that the Minister is not present. I received notification of the selection of this matter at 11.02 a.m. There was ample time to ensure the Minister was present when important matters were being addressed to him.

I support the case being made by beef producers that the current return per kilo is below the break-even position and that there is a compelling case for the Minister to exert appropriate pressure on processors and on large supermarket chains to have this unsustainable situation satisfactorily addressed. Protecting the domestic and international reputation of our high-quality beef is an absolute requirement and it is the duty not only of the Minister but of all elected voices and those who can influence public opinion at home and overseas. Irish beef is high-quality beef raised on the richest grasslands in the world. We must effectively market this key Irish product globally.

It is because I care passionately for the reputation of this important sector of our economy that I ask the Minister of State to explain his and his Department's failure to discipline those departmental employees - veterinary inspectors - who have failed to carry out their duties responsibly, who have put innocent farmers under severe personal stress and strain and who have admitted under oath that they allowed an animal to enter the food chain that they believed had been injected with an unknown substance, which they acknowledged could have been toxic. They also stated that they did not believe it relevant that the animal had entered the food chain. Are these people serious? Relevant to what? Is their primary role not to help ensure the best practices of husbandry are employed by beef farmers at all times, that consumers at home and abroad have the assurances of our Government that the Irish beef we purchase and consume is of the highest quality and that our systems are above reproach?

The Minister will know that I am referring specifically to the case of the Cavan farmer Mr. Douglas Fannin, whose good name and good reputation were affirmed in the Cavan Circuit Court last year following years of unjustified and disgraceful pursuit by his Department's special investigations unit. It is long past time that the Minister of State and his senior colleague put the interest of the beef sector above that of their Department's employees of whatever rank. Will he ensure the Minister is fully briefed on this exchange? Will he ensure there can be no recurrence of these actions by departmental inspectors? Will he assure the House and all whom we collectively represent that there can be no recurrence of what I view to be irresponsible behaviour that puts at risk the reputation of this key sector and that could put at risk the health of innocent consumers at home or abroad?

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