Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús fáilte a chuir roimh an Aire. Táimse an-bhuíoch dó as ucht an léaráid suimiúil a thug sé dúinn ar maidin. I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for a most interesting presentation. I wish him well in this challenging portfolio. I also welcome the thoughtful contribution made by Senator Bradford. I agree with the many interesting points he made.

It is a sign of a forward-thinking Government that we now have a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for health promotion and food safety and that a section of the Department of Health and Children is now dedicated to dealing with this important issue, which is becoming more important in today's health conscious society.

We are fortunate to live in a country where the quality rather than the quantity of food is at issue. My generation is probably the first generation that lived free from the shadow of the "great hunger". We have come to expect full and plenty on a year round basis. We witness shocking scenes on television of famine and horror in Third World countries and when we commiserate with those unfortunate individuals we realise how lucky we are to be able to have three square meals a day. It is not so much the availability of food but the quality of it that is important. It is vital for the Government to ensure, in so far as it is possible, that the food we eat is free of inferior ingredients, shoddy practices and poor hygiene.

I acknowledge and welcome the invaluable work being done by the Food Safety Authority and the Food Safety Promotion Board. The image of a clean, green Ireland, which is so important to our economy, is being safeguarded by these agencies and their subsidiaries, along with their partners in Bord Bia and the overlapping work done by the Departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Health and Children. Of the 4,500 staff in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, approximately 2,000 people are employed in the area of food safety and quality assurance.

I welcome the interest in this matter of the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, and his counterpart in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Sargent. In fairness to the Green Party, it has taken a lead in many of the issues we are discussing. The Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, will be in my home town of Listowel tonight to open the annual food fair which was organised by Deputy Deenihan. I know the Minister of State will get a warm welcome.

I see Senator O'Toole is present in the Chamber. He recently raised in the House the issue of the disappearance of mutton. He will be delighted to hear one of the competitions in the Listowel food fair this year is the making of mutton pies, which were a staple diet for people attending the Listowel races.