Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I concur with the comments of Senator O'Toole and others because I am a victim of these regulations. Unfortunately, we are approximately 20 years too late in coming to deal with this matter because many small abattoirs were put out of business because of overly stringent interpretation of European regulations. These concerns were forced to compete against meat plants which were heavily subsidised under EU grants and which were supposed to export meat but which began supplying the home market after they received their grants and built their plants. We should look more favourably on the small abattoir sector and help it survive. During the period to which I refer, the Small Abattoirs Association bought approximately 5,000 cattle and 25,000 lambs each week.

I compliment the Minister for Agriculture and Food on her actions regarding Brazilian beef. We have known that there were problems with such beef for many years. Beef imports from three Brazilian provinces have been banned. In addition, the Minister's proposal to label meat products, particularly beef, lets people know exactly what they are buying and eating. I estimate that 90% of the meat in hotels and restaurants comes from Brazil or Argentina.