Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The EU regulation on beef trimming specifically states that no fat, muscle or other tissue may be removed from the carcass before weighing, classifying and marking, except in cases where veterinary requirements are applied. The fact that 21 fines have been applied in 2018 shows clearly that there have been breaches of the carcass trimming regulations. Unfortunately, the performance of the Department in overseeing the trimming process has been poor. The Department has also failed to ensure accountability and transparency by naming those factories that have breached the rules. It has further failed to ensure that farmers who were affected and who suffered financial losses were informed.

The Minister has been negligent in respect of his responsibility to ensure there is proper accountability in that regard. In fact, the factories have been shielded by him from having to account publicly for the fact that they have been breaching these rules. Will he give us an assurance today that the factories that have breached the trimming rules will be named and that he will not act as a ministerial shield, protecting them from being held accountable for this breach and leaving farmers short-changed as a result?

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