Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The Department of Agriculture and Food is to be congratulated on bringing forward this legislation. I welcome the Minister to the House. This is my first time to engage in debate with her in the House since her appointment and I wish her well in her new responsibilities. I know she will discharge them with energy and commitment, as did her predecessor. In the past ten or 15 years we have been very lucky in the quality of Ministers for agriculture from both ends of the political spectrum. They have done extraordinary work for the country and this should be recognised.

I have two reservations regarding the Bill, which I ask the Minister to consider. Section 29 precludes Members of the Oireachtas from membership of the Veterinary Council of Ireland. Why is this? This measure is offensive. On two recent occasions the Tánaiste has removed similar offensive sections from legislation, as have two other Ministers during the previous four years. These sections are included in legislation by draftsmen as a protection against double jeopardy in situations where statutory councils must come back to the Oireachtas. There is no reason for the provision in the Bill. I know of no one who wishes to be a member of the veterinary council and that is not the reason for my objection. I simply find the section offensive. Are Members of the Oireachtas lesser beings who cannot be appointed to the council? I ask the Minister to remove the section.

I am concerned at the lack of consultation with the veterinary profession. A few moments ago I telephoned the Irish Veterinary Union to ask how much consultation took place between the union and the Department. I read the Minister's speech and saw her reference to the perspective of the Veterinary Council. However, I have been around long enough to realise no consultation took place. The Minister says the Veterinary Council has drawn attention to shortcomings in the existing code. I am sure it has. Can the Minister tell the House how many meetings took place with representatives of the veterinary profession before the Bill was drafted and who represented the profession in that process?

I have been through similar processes on two previous occasions. I was involved for many years in the development of the legislation which led to the establishment of the Teaching Council. At every step there was consultation with representatives of the teaching profession. The Minister wanted to know what the profession thought and every proposed measure was examined. More recently, I was involved with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the establishment of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority. For ten months before the authority was put together, representatives of the accountancy and auditing bodies were consulted, their views sought and the issues discussed. This omission can be corrected. The Minister should consult with representatives of the Irish Veterinary Union, the Veterinary Council of Ireland and Veterinary Ireland about their proposals for the Bill.

The Minister has stressed the importance of the veterinary profession to the public, as consumers of food. We have a vested interested in the work of the veterinary profession. The job it does is astonishingly important and will become more so. As food legislation becomes more important to the public they will ask more and more questions. I support everything the Minister has said on this matter. Veterinary surgeons are the forgotten heroes and heroines of the food chain. They do a superb job in very difficult conditions.