Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the drawdown from the €180 million fund approved by Dáil Éireann to deal with the pork dioxin contamination; the safeguards in place to ensure the taxpayer is not asked to provide compensation in respect of pork that is not of Irish origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5283/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Under the agreement that was concluded with pig processors in December 2008, €180 million is being made available from the public finances to help processors to fund the recall and destruction of certain pork products that were in the market or in storage at the time of the recall. The details of the agreement, which allowed processing plants to resume operations within a week, are reflected in the pigmeat recall scheme that has been established by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The scheme, which covers affected products in Ireland and in overseas markets, is important in so far as it will ensure that such products are destroyed and will facilitate the return to normal market conditions. The Department is involved in other activities to assist the pigmeat sector. Along with Bord Bia, the Department is actively seeking to restore access to markets that were temporarily closed due to the dioxin incident. I am glad that our efforts to date have brought some success. The frank and open way in which we dealt with the issue has borne fruit.

The EU "aids to private storage" scheme, which has a potential cost of €15 million, might also prove beneficial in this regard. It allows for the temporary removal of 30,000 tonnes of pigmeat from the market. Some €37.1 million has been paid so far under the pork recall scheme, which provides for assistance in respect of eligible produce manufactured from pigs slaughtered in Ireland between 1 September and 6 December 2008. A case has been made to consider offering help in respect of other products manufactured in Ireland that were affected by the product recall, including products containing both Irish and imported pigmeat and products made here using solely imported pigmeat that, at the time of the recall, could not be segregated satisfactorily to facilitate their sale. The Department is considering the position of such products and the claims made by some people in the industry.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The pig industry is not yet out of the woods in so far as this crisis is concerned. I implore the Minister to continue to micro-manage this issue. Producers and processors are dealing with serious issues. It is one thing that the markets are open, but it is a significantly different thing to regain market share on the supermarket shelves. Does the Minister agree that the Irish taxpayer would be appalled at the prospect of having to pay compensation to Irish processors of bacon from the Netherlands, Chile or any other foreign country? The Minister and his Department, like the Minister's predecessors who were responsible for previous programmes for Government, have failed to deliver an adequate system of country of origin labelling. It was a flag of convenience in previous programmes for Government, but it has not been delivered. As a result of the Department's failure to deliver country of origin labelling, Irish taxpayers may have to pay compensation in respect of pork that was not produced here.

This country's bovine compensation scheme, which pertains to animals that are diseased, is well established. No similar scheme is available in the pig industry, perhaps for good reasons. Compensation has been paid in respect of bovine animals that were fed with contaminated feed during the recent crisis. I understand the level of compensation is relatively close to the cost of replacing those animals. Those in the pig sector have been left swinging in the wind; the compensation they have received comes nowhere near meeting re-entry costs. Is it the Department's unspoken agenda to force these producers out of the business, given that the compensation offered to them comes nowhere near meeting re-entry costs.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I reject the Deputy's final comments. I fully appreciate the serious difficulties arising from the contamination incident caused to individual pig producers, the processing industry and everybody involved in the pork trade.

From day one the Department and Government worked extremely hard to bring a conclusion to that incident as rapidly as possible. This House agreed a Supplementary Estimate prior to Christmas to enable the issuing of interim payments, which were crucial to stimulate movement in the system again. Such payments needed to trickle down to the individual pig producer who was waiting for payment from the processing facilities.

In regard to labelling, the Department of Health and Children, on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, put forward specific proposals to the European Commission on labelling for pigmeat, poultrymeat and sheepmeat on a number of occasions.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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It is not listening to those who put them forward.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Unfortunately, those proposals were not accepted by the European Union. I mentioned at a recent committee meeting, and the Deputy questioned me on this recently, that I had observed a different attitude to labelling among other member states, country of origin labelling and European Union labelling. The Minister, Mr. Benn, in our nearest neighbour Britain, spoke recently about the need for consumers to know from where their food originates. It is a welcome move by Britain that it wants the know from where food is coming. Some other member states have also expressed an interest in this issue.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister aware of the period of delay between producers providing pigs to processors and payment being received? The period of delay is significantly different from the period involved prior to the dioxin contamination? In addressing that, will the Minister indicate how much money has been paid out? If it is necessary to pay out additional funds to the processors or others who have been affected, it should be done quickly to ensure these people can have the financial muscle to re-establish themselves in the market. Bord Bia has a role to play, but these individual companies also need financial assistance to regain market share and to pay farmers for the pigs they are producing. How much money has been drawn down? Are payments imminent? When will all the money be drawn down?

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Under the specific pork recall scheme, €37.1 million has been paid to date.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Some €37 million.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Some €37.1 million and the possibility of making second interim payments is currently being examined. Naturally every claim from a processor must be validated. As the Deputy rightly said, we have to protect the taxpayer. Whether the product is abroad or here, it must be rendered and validated by a competent authority. We will not pay out money until the relevant checks have been done. That does not include the figure for payments made to farmers who unfortunately had to have their herds slaughtered. I will not give a figure for that, but I can clarify it and advise the Deputy tomorrow.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister realise that some producers are contemplating not killing animals again?

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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There was no delay on our part in issuing payments. The funding is in place. We work under a system where a claimant must prove his or her eligibility for payment. We must have our checks and balances in place. We have to ensure that every claim is properly validated.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Those checks are putting pig producers out of business.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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We are moving on to Question No. 67 in the name of Deputy Sherlock.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Creed spoke about the need to protect the taxpayer. We will do that and we will issue the payments as rapidly as we can, as we have done. We dealt with this scheme very effectively and efficiently.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Producers are being put of business.