Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Will the Acting Leader ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to inform the House if he has any more concerns about the horsemeat scandal from earlier this year? I raise this because today's edition of The Guardian newspaper reported further allegations and information relating to this scandal. It stated how meat used in the process was so old it was sometimes green while the workers tied towels around their faces to stop themselves being sick. In a report I did many years ago, the same allegations were made about beef.

We must remember that during the horsemeat scandal an assurance was given that the meat used was fit to eat. It now appears from The Guardian report that this is not the case. One of the suppliers was arrested for smuggling cannabis into Northern Ireland in his horsemeat lorries. The horses he transported here and subsequently used in the production of burgers were unfit for human consumption being unwell with ailments such as chest infections and sepsis. There are serious allegations raised in The Guardian. Has the Minister any more information on this scandal? The article suggests there is more information available and more will come out.