Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Naughten for raising this Topical Issue matter. The Minister, Deputy Creed, is travelling to Turkey to discuss live exports with his counterpart in that country and he sends his apologies for not being here.

There are 32 slaughter plants in Ireland, with mechanical grading being carried out in 23 of them. Some 1.8 million bovines were classified in all plants in 2018, with 1.6 million of them being mechanically graded. Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1184 of 20 April 2017 governs the monitoring of carcass classification, presentation and weighing. It specifies how on-the-spot checks shall be carried out in all slaughterhouses applying compulsory carcass classification. According to the regulation, on-the-spot checks shall be performed at least twice every three months in all slaughterhouses which slaughter 150 or more bovine animals per week. The regulation stipulates that each on-the-spot check shall relate to at least 40 carcasses selected at random. In 2018, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine conducted almost 550 unannounced on-the-spot inspections in the 32 factories on carcass classification, presentation and weights. There were 616 inspections in 2016 and 628 inspections in 2017. This equates to an average of 20 inspections per factory per year, which significantly exceeds the legal minimum requirement of eight inspections per year. The controls applied in Ireland are significantly in excess of those required under EU law. These on-the-spot inspections are carried out by a dedicated team of specialist staff in the Department's beef carcass classification section. The Department has been implementing further monitoring since 1 January last. Since that date, the Department's veterinary public health inspection staff in the factories have been providing a supporting role for the beef carcass classification staff. This should provide further assurance to stakeholders that the appropriate dressing specification is being applied in factories.

Regarding grading checks in particular, the unannounced inspections verify the ongoing accuracy of the automated beef grading. The mechanical classification method must operate within legally defined tolerances at all times. The tolerances are defined in the EU legislation. If the machine is found to be working outside EU-defined tolerances, the factory is instructed to revert to manual grading immediately. The factory must then arrange for the machine to be serviced. A classification check will subsequently be conducted by departmental officers to confirm the machine is within the legal tolerances before it is returned to mechanical classification mode. All manual classifiers are licensed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. When manual grading is instigated, this is advised to farmers through remittance dockets. Regional control staff ensure standardised and harmonised carcass classification procedures apply. There are detailed procedures in place for the conduct of inspections and protocols for dealing with issues as they arise. Standardisation exercises occur twice per year with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, where the same classification machines are in use. This is to ensure a standard approach to inspections throughout the island. In addition, the EU Commission visits Ireland and other member states periodically to ensure there is standardisation across the EU. I am satisfied that the controls carried out by departmental staff regarding carcass conformation, carcass trim and weights are fully in line with EU legislation. I am also satisfied that there is a robust inspection monitoring and control system, with the number of inspections conducted well in excess of requirements set down in EU legislation.

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