Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I thank the Senators for their contributions and recognise their concern and the seriousness with which they are treating the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza. We are all conscious of the impact such an outbreak would have, particularly on our poultry industry. As the Acting Chairman and other Senators are aware, the poultry industry here employs 6,000 people and there are 2,000 flock owners. The value of the industry is estimated at €360 million, of which a little over half is exported. It is important that we would keep our minds focused on that. The Department of Agriculture and Food is continually focused on the importance of the poultry industry here and those involved in it expect the Department to seriously examine and deal effectively with any issues that might arise that would affect it.

I thank Senator Coonan for his support for what we are doing and for some of the issues he raised. I appreciate the support from the Senators opposite for the Government and the Department of Agriculture and Food, in particular, in dealing with some of the issues that have arisen. It is incumbent on all of us to work together to minimise the risk of an introduction of the disease and, in the event of an outbreak, to ensure its early detection and speedy eradication.

Many Senators spoke about how we dealt with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. That is an example of when co-operation and partnership were engaged in by those on all sides of the political divide and by communities. Senator Ryan and other Senators referred to a great level of local patriotism, support and partnership at that time to ensure we dealt effectively with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease; extraordinary efforts were made. I compliment all Senators on the support they have shown for what we are trying to achieve.

Senator Coonan raised the matter of imports and the total banning of Brazilian beef. I point out that we are bound by the European rules governing imports. The rules for imports into the EU are set down at EU level. Controls are monitored by the EU Food and Veterinary Office to ensure an equivalence of measures and controls apply. Following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Brazil, we must operate in line with policy applying to trade matters. We benefited from regionalisation when there was an outbreak of foot and mouth disease here in 2001 and when a ban on exports applied only to the areas affected. We cannot unilaterally ban imports. We are part of the EU and must be governed by its rules. The Minister has taken a strong line in dealing with the regions in Brazil affected. Nonetheless, I note the concerns expressed by Senator Coonan and other Senators and will report them to the Minister. Brazilian beef imports into Ireland in 2004 amounted to 6,588 tonnes and such imports into the EU amounted to 170,000 tonnes. Irish beef exports amounted to 500,000 tonnes. There is no legal basis for imposing an Irish ban on such imports. We must operate within the ambit of EU rules.

Senators referred to adopting an all-Ireland approach to disease eradication in dealing with issues such as this one. I am pleased to inform the House that my Department is working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland and officials from two Departments have met on a number of occasions in the past month to consider the respective approaches of each to the risk of disease introduction and have undertaken to exchange results of respective wild bird surveillance programmes. Such co-operation between the North and South will continue. The Minister is anxious that such co-operation continues and that we would have an all-Ireland approach to dealing with this serious situation.

Reference was made to food labelling, which has been a cause of major concern to farm organisations and those on all sides of the political divide. When the Minister took up office in the Department of Agriculture and Food, food labelling was one of the first issues she decided to address. Concern has been expressed that products, particularly meat products, imported from another country can be re-labelled as Irish products simply as a result of the scattering of a few crumbs of bread on top of such products. This practice is of major concern to the Department and to the farm organisations. The Minister, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Children, has managed to introduce a Bill that will deal with that issue. We expect the new regulation to be in place by the end of the year and it should deal effectively with the concerns raised by a number of Senators.

The Minister recently negotiated with restaurant owners, vintners and other organisations involved in the food area a voluntary code of conduct in terms of advising consumers of the origin and type of meat served in restaurants and pubs. Many of these establishments have signed up to this code. We will see a move in that direction in the future, but we need to enact legislation in this area. The Minister will introduce such legislation by the end of the year.

On the issue of Brazilian beef imports, Brazilian veterinary documentation must state clearly the region from which the beef comes and the meat factory where the animals were slaughtered. Therefore, there are strict regulations in place but I appreciate the concern expressed.

Senator Ryan referred to Government policy in this area. Anyone who has been following this story would realise that for the past number of weeks the Departments of Agriculture and Food and Health and Children have been very involved in dealing with the threat posed by an outbreak of avian influenza. The Government has had meetings and discussions on it and it has been on the Cabinet agenda on a regular basis. The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, attended a meeting in Luxembourg this week at which the issue was debated and a number of initiatives were taken. While we read reports to the effect that 50,000 or 100,000 people could die from an outbreak of this disease in Ireland — to a certain extent, some people would say that is scaremongering — it is important that the Government, particularly the Departments of Agriculture and Food and Health and Children, continues to monitor and seriously deal with what is presented to it and takes cognisance of the importance of safeguarding both human and animal health. That is what is happening. Dialogue is taking place between those two Departments and it will continue until such time as closure is brought to this threat. No one knows when that might happen. There is much discussion and scaremongering, but we can only deal with what is before us and the two Ministers are effectively doing that.

I thank the Senators for their support. It is good to have a debate on an issue such as this one. This discussion allows Senators to put forward the views and concerns of members of the public on this issue. It is important also that our Department, the Department of Health and Children and the Government continues to monitor the situation and deal with the issues in a calm and reflective way. I thank the officials present. They have probably borne the brunt of work emanating from the meetings and discussions in recent weeks. It proves once again that when it comes to dealing with issues such as this one Department of Agriculture and Food officials are very much on top of their brief, aware of the significance of the threat posed by avian influenza and dealing with it accordingly. I thank all Senators for their contributions.