Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. The measure is disappointing in its treatment of Irish producers and packers of potatoes. Growers and packers already have licence numbers and their products are quality guaranteed. No matter how the Department legislates for the identification of imported foreign products, we cannot have the same confidence in such products. In the next few weeks, imports of new potatoes will begin coming into the country yet it is not possible to discover their origin. Given that Irish products must compete side by side with such imports, it is unfair that the same standards do not apply to both sets of products.

Traceability is the key, as the Minister of State pointed out. When the Minister was in the House at an earlier Stage of the Bill, I questioned him about the traceability of beef. I highlighted a case known to the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, of a restaurant owner who produced beef in the fields outside his restaurant in County Galway. He was approached by what I will call a certifying agent on behalf of Bia Linn, and told his premises could be certified if he purchased beef through a particular agent. The owner told the agent he did not want certification of this kind because he had his own supply of beef, the traceability of which was beyond doubt, and he wanted to keep that supply.

The officer said it could not be done. The owner decided not to follow that direction because he said the agent nominated to give certification had imported from South America substantial amounts of beef for the Irish market and the catering industry. This appears to suggest that traceability means nothing. There should be legitimate statutory certification of a situation which is totally out of control and about which something needs to be done. The Minister for Agriculture and Food said he would deal with the matter in the legislation but he has not done so. We are talking about potatoes in this instance. It is difficult to understand why we are in this situation. It is important to have traceability in respect of quality Irish products, whether they are potatoes, vegetables or other produce. However, imported products do not and cannot have the same traceability.