Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. On the basis of his request, I reassure everyone that our beef is absolutely safe and that there is no safety issue related to this atypical case of BSE. It is very different from classic cases of BSE, which were an issue ten or 20 years ago and were related to feed. BSE is something that happens sporadically and randomly in bovines, and it always will. One in every few million contracts it every so often. We had a similar atypical case in 2020 and another in 2017, and we will have similar ones in the future because we have 7 million or 8 million cattle in this country. It is critical that we have the best testing system anywhere in the world. That is why we capture any case that arises. I am referring not only to BSE but also to other matters of food safety. The system will remain in place. Its security is recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health, WOAH, as is the fact that we have the best possible BSE risk rating. Our risk is negligible according to the WOAH and that is recognised by all our markets.

We exported 70 markets across the world, one of those being China. China is the only one of the 70 that has a specific clause in its importation protocol that requires exporters to voluntarily suspend exports as soon as there is an atypical case and to submit an epidemiological report to its authorities. This is a process we have gone through in the past couple of years. We secured access to the Chinese market for the first time in 2018. In 2019, we were building up this market and our companies were working hard to acquire customers. However, the atypical case in 2020 led to a suspension of the market. Over 2021 and 2022, we worked with the Chinese authorities to get the market reopened. It was reopened in January, so it is disappointing that we now have a case again. I am hopeful, given that we have gone through this process very recently with the Chinese authorities and that they have verified and signed off on the strong controls we have in place, that we will be able to gain access again more promptly. It is ultimately a matter for the Chinese authorities to decide upon.

The Tánaiste is in China this week and will be raising the matter as part of his visit. I was on a trade visit to China earlier this year. Access to markets is of considerable importance. I was in South Korea last week seeking to make progress on gaining access to its market. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, is in Malaysia and the Philippines this week seeking to build on the markets we have there. International markets are important to family farm income in this country. We must make sure that as many as possible are open. We hope to see the Chinese market reopened as soon as possible.

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