Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Leas Aire. Food safety is a major issue and has been underlined this week by the report of the EU Food and Veterinary Office, FVO, on Brazilian beef production and the confirmation that foot and mouth disease has been discovered in Cyprus. The FVO report proves that serious irregularities and shortcomings exist on Brazilian farms and in processing plants. It also confirms the allegations that have been made by farmers' groups here in regard to the import of beef from Brazil and the findings of an IFA investigation into Brazilian production methods.

The FVO report shows irregularities in animal registration, identification, vaccination and breaches of EU residency requirements. Most seriously it discovered that meat that ought to be deemed ineligible for export to the EU was being falsely certified in order to be avoid import controls. It was also found that foot and mouth disease is still present in the Mato Grosso region from where most EU imported Brazilian beef originates.

The report puts beyond doubt the need for the EU to impose a ban on Brazilian imports until producers there can prove that they comply with the stringent regulations that are applied to EU producers and processors. It also underlines the need for the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Coughlan, to change her stance on this issue and support a ban, in line with the demands of Irish farming organisations and consumers.

The discovery of foot and mouth disease in Cyprus is also a cause for concern. It is the same strain that was responsible for the last outbreak in Britain and the one that is most common in Brazil. That raises the question of where the strain originated and how it infected EU herds. That was never satisfactorily explained and emphasises the importance of strict controls on imports.

This country has a good record on animal diseases and was able to limit the effects of the last outbreak of foot and mouth disease and ensure recent outbreaks of animal disease in Britain were not transmitted here. That was due to the effectiveness of controls in both parts of the island and in which my party colleague Ms Michelle Gildernew, Minister for Agriculture in the Northern Ireland Executive, played a full part.

To ensure that this country retains and strengthens its high standards in food safety it is vital we have an all-Ireland approach in which the two Departments co-operate fully. Sinn Féin will be doing its part in both parts of the island to ensure that this is the case.