Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

With a number of my colleagues, I want to address the very serious issue of the horsemeat scandal that has gripped the country in recent weeks. Undoubtedly, it has done untold damage to the beef industry. As a consequence of what has happened, the industry is now, clearly, on its knees and at crisis point, with farmers being pushed to breaking point and a considerable number of employees, both direct and indirect, affected by what is unfolding. What perturbs me most is that this debacle demonstrates the fundamental unfairness in the application of the law in this country. Farmers are subjected to untold scrutiny and face sanctions with regard to the single payment if they breach any law, yet one meat processing plant and probably many more are clearly not subjected to the same checks and balances, despite the fact that a product unsuitable for human consumption was allowed to end up in the food chain.

It is clear that we need to avoid the kind of mantra that stipulates that if no risk is proved, there is no risk. We need to ensure rigorous testing takes place in each plant. Some commentators have tried to turn the issue into a discussion about why eating horsemeat is not a tradition in Ireland, but that misses the point. It is not a question of taste but of misleading the public. If the label states "beefburger", the product should be beef, not 29% horsemeat, as was the case in the case of Tesco beefburgers. Since the horsemeat was not intended for the food chain in the first instance, we have no idea what was contained in it or if it was safe at all. On that basis, we need to see prosecutions taken against those who knowingly and wilfully ignored food health and safety legislation. Given the untold damage done to the industry, those with meat processing plants who also have farms should have the single farm payment stopped by the Department.

What ultimately happened was tantamount to plain greed. There has been intentional deception for gain. Someone, somewhere, in this scandal is guilty of this. It is clear that the effort to provide food on the cheap by unscrupulous processors has backfired spectacularly. What has happened has destroyed the beef industry and it is clear that our reputation is in tatters. We have tried painstakingly to build a reputation during the years. It is necessary for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to debate the matter fully in this House in order that we can all air our opinions.