Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I am glad of the opportunity to address this important issue. With regard to avian influenza, the Minister of State has stated that 150 million chickens and turkeys have been destroyed. If it came into this country it would have a devastating impact. We must be exceptionally vigilant. The Minister is very much aware and has set up an early warning system supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the North, as well as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the regional game councils, and Birdwatch Ireland. It is very important that we remain this vigilant in case a problem arises. If that happens, we must be aware of it from an early stage. If the virus entered the country it would devastate the poultry industry for a generation to come. The industry employs 6,000 people and it is important that we stay aware.

With regard to foot and mouth disease, I concur with some of Senator Coonan's remarks. There are 200 million animals in Brazil, yet only 16.5 million of those are traceable. There are three regions in Brazil where foot and mouth disease has been diagnosed. The EU has stated that no beef from any of those regions should be imported into the Union. São Paulo is one of the regions that affects the Brazilian economy most, since approximately 75% of the meat processed in the country is slaughtered in that area, which is also among the restricted regions. However, when one does not have traceability, what is to stop animals from any Brazilian region from being taken there, slaughtered and exported? We must be very vigilant in that regard.

Ireland supports regionalisation; when there was an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the Cooley peninsula it was important that we did not take the entire country as a single region. Had that happened, all our exports would have had to cease. That would have had serious consequences, including for the tourism industry. Regionalisation is fine when there is traceability but that is not the case in Brazil.

The IFA is not against the importation of Brazilian beef but is opposed to the sale of such beef, within the State, as Irish beef. This is a serious problem that must be addressed. I am aware the Minister intends to introduce compulsory labelling for beef early in the new year. It is important that anybody caught trying to sell Brazilian beef or other product should face severe penalties. We have the highest quality of beef, lamb and poultry products. However, we must compete against other countries in which producers may employ slave labour. Irish farmers are compliant in every way, whether in respect of hygiene or other regulations. It is unfair that they must compete in a marketplace where others do not adhere to the same standards.

The EU regulation on substantial transformation sets out the conditions under which Irish companies can label imported products as of Irish origin. However, it seems merely putting breadcrumbs on chicken fillets can make a product Irish. Severe penalties should pertain where this regulation is abused, as seems frequently to be the case.

The number of small abattoirs has declined significantly in the last 20 years. The 18 originally in operation in my own county have been reduced to only two, struggling to survive because of over-regulation. Many such operators, supplying the domestic market, were refused grants to upgrade their premises, while multinational companies were given grants in the region of 60% to build new plants which would produce beef for export. The small abattoirs who supply to the home market must compete against these major, heavily subsidised plants.

This is not a level playing field. Support should be given to small abattoirs, which have been badly treated by the State in recent years. Many such operators have suffered hardship. I am aware of a person in Monaghan who spent €430,000 on a plant to slaughter pigs, cattle and sheep but had difficulty securing a licence for it. This was a modern plant built with full planning permission, the purpose of which was to supply the domestic market.

I wish the Minister of State well. The Minister, Deputy Coughlan, will do everything to ensure we protect the beef and poultry industries for the future.