Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her attention has been drawn to the statement by the European Food Safety Authority that it saw no risk to health from the use in food production of correctly processed category 2 and 3 animal by-products; if she will re-examine the basis on which her Department informed all organic waste recycling plants that processed products may not be used as a fertiliser for the production of food products; and her views on the need to take on board principles of sustainability and the need to avoid compostable organic waste going to landfill or incineration. [1933/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority in respect of the risks from a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy perspective arising from the spreading of organic fertilizer derived from category 2 and category 3 animal by-products on land. The European Union provisions relating to the disposal of all animal by-products are laid down in Council Regulation 1774/2002.

In addition, Ireland has adopted national controls to counteract the spread of BSE. The need to prevent the spread of this disease has been of central importance to Ireland since its discovery here in 1989. As scientific knowledge has progressed, a sequence of measures has been introduced in Ireland to combat the spread of BSE. These measures are aimed principally at ensuring the safety of the consumers of Irish beef and at preventing the exposure of cattle to the infective agent through feed. Ireland has adopted control measures in advance of other member states and also in some cases adopted more stringent controls than elsewhere in the European Union.

This approach has been successful in having Ireland's BSE controls validated within the European Union and by countries outside of the Union thereby protecting valuable export outlets for our agricultural production on which we are uniquely dependant. In addition, the fall in the numbers of BSE cases apparent in recent years, and the increasing age profile of the cases detected, is concrete proof of the effectiveness of the control measures in place. It was in this context that my Department has been in contact with organic waste recycling plants with a view to regulation the use of categories 2 and 3 animal by-products while at the same time taking account of the stringent BSE control measures in place. The specific controls are laid down in S.I. 551 of 2002 and like all legislation it is subject to ongoing review.