Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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6. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he expects the announcement by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in relation to the importation of beef to take full effect; if he will outline the veterinary requirements that are to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48350/13]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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I welcome the announcement that the US Department of Agriculture has published the regulation that will allow for the re-importation of beef into the US. When does the Minister expect the export of beef to commence, what veterinary requirements are currently being examined in this regard by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and what impact might these have on production?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the United States Department of Agriculture lifted the BSE rule on 1 November 2013. This ban on the importation of beef from the European Union had been in place since 1997 andits ending was one of the Minister's priorities during his visit to the US last year, where he pushed the matter with US Department of Agriculture Secretary of State Tom Vilsack and in meetings with Senators.

The publication of the new regulation is a critical first step in accessing the US market and the Department has been preparing for the event for some time, with officials working to address specific veterinary requirements demanded by the US. Last week, a senior Department official visited Washington and held high level meetings with USDA officials, with a view to advancingthe various technical requirements to ensure commencement of the trade at the earliest possible date.

It is important to stress that there are a number of stages to be completed before trade can commence. The first step is the completion by Ireland of a self-reporting tool, SRT, which was issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS. This document, which runs to over 150 pages is a questionnaire for completion by the Central Competent Authority, CCA, which in Ireland's case is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is, in effect, the FSIS tool used for assessing equivalence of foreign inspection systems. These criteria reflect the current policy application of the US import regulations and cover government oversight, statutory authority and food safety regulations, sanitation, hazard analysis and critical control point systems, HACCP, chemical residues and microbiological testing programmes. I am pleased to say that Ireland has now completed this stage of the operation and the document has been submitted to the US authorities. However, no product can be exported to the US until the USDA completes its analysis of the SRT and finalises the relevant certification arrangements for Ireland.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The opening of this sought-after market provides further evidence of the Government's ongoing work to grow and develop the beef industry in accordance with the Food Harvest 2020 strategy. I am confident that this market will grow strongly as US consumers realise the superior quality of Irish grass fed beef and the Irish meat industry. Bord Bia is well placed to develop this niche market in the near future. It is important now that all interested parties work together to complete the various requirements to allow the trade to commence at the earliest opportunity.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is good to see that progress is continuing. Is an estimate available of the potential gain for farmers and the agribusiness here of beef exports to the US market?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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While no estimate is available, I believe the potential gain is quite good. Irish beef is a unique brand. Last week, I, along with representatives of SuperValu and Teagasc, visited the agricultural institute in Grange which is engaged in a great a deal of work in regard to consumer identification of beef. When all of the work in this area has been accumulated we will see how special Irish beef is. When consumers worldwide realise just how special our beef product is, we will see an increase in our exports in this area. We have been already exporting to Germany for a number of years. It is a good market for us. We can market our beef on the European stage. There is great potential in this regard, particularly in terms of the proposals contained in Food Harvest 2020.

The fact that a suckler scheme was put in place under the recent budget will encourage more farmers to get involved in the beef business and produce better quality stock.