Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and his official. Food safety is important from the points of view of the health of individuals, agriculture and the food industry. In the past ten to 15 years, food scares in Ireland and among our EU partners have had an adverse impact on certain categories of food. In using the word "scare" I do not necessarily mean the cases in question have been without foundation. It is in the interests of the health of citizens and our agricultural industry that we take food safety seriously. The regulatory framework here and in Europe has been beefed up, albeit to an insufficient extent. In this context, I pay tribute to the work of former Commissioner, Mr. David Byrne, one of whose main areas of responsibility was food safety.

While the various aspects of the Sudan Red 1 case have been sufficiently discussed, prompt action was taken as it must be. This the best way of quickly restoring confidence because if regulators or industry are slow to act, it can have a devastating impact.

Senators raised dietary issues. Although our diet was much more basic in the past, it came much more directly from farm and garden. Nowadays, a great deal of food comes in highly processed form and some products may be much healthier than others. There is a paradox in this. While I am on the issue of packaging and processing, I pay tribute to Bord Bia and its work abroad in selling Irish produce. The basic healthiness of production here and its green characteristics are major selling points, particularly when compared with some forms of intensive food production, which does not have these merits.

Many of us are concerned that due to a variety of changes in lifestyle the dietary habits of the younger generation may be less healthy than those of our generation. It will be interesting to observe whether life expectancy will continue to increase or whether today's younger generation finds instead that various factors, including what they eat, the amount they drink and obesity, create many health problems for them in middle age.

We still have much to do in terms of consumer knowledge and confidence. One must be an expert to make sense of various ingredients and small print on the back of packages and some guidance is necessary in this respect. It would be welcome if some vigorous consumer magazines were to operate in the Irish marketplace. The food sector deserves one of its own, perhaps on the lines of Which?, in which the pros and cons of competing products and their contents could be assessed in an objective rather than sensational manner.

South Tipperary is the centre of organic food in Ireland. Organic farming is a niche market which does not provide all the answers. Some of the restrictions in place in the areas of preventive animal medicine, spraying and so forth make it difficult for most organic farmers to operate commercially. For this reason, I do not share the view that if all farmers were to switch to organic agriculture, it would solve most of our problems, although I accept it has a role to play in a niche market.

Food safety is an important area which requires further work and attention. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland can take urgent action when required, such as in the Sudan Red 1 case, but we must also address the less urgent issue of guiding consumer choice in an informed way and giving consumers the information they need.

It is a serious anomaly that a wide variety of standards and restrictions are imposed on food production in Ireland and the European Union, yet no requirements on providing place of origin and so forth attach to imports from countries such as Brazil. The import regime can run a coach and four through the tight system of regulation in force in the EU. I do not accept that those who wish to supply the European Union market should not be subject to the same standards and restrictions as European producers. This issue must be tackled at European level.