Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 550: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food when she intends to introduce either regulations or legislation to implement the EU hygiene package; the main elements of the regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22244/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The hygiene package is one of the key elements of the consolidation and updating of the EU's food safety legislation. It is composed of five regulations-directives covering general hygiene, hygiene of foodstuffs of animal origin, official controls and animal health rules for products of animal origin intended for human consumption, and a directive repealing the previously existing legislation. The main elements of the regulations cover, inter alia, the responsibility of the food business operators, the registration and the official approval of premises, the controls to be put in place by the national competent authorities and specific training requirements for both operators and official agency staff.

These measures cover all food business operators throughout the food chain from farmer to retailer. Accordingly the controls involved are operated by a number of Departments and official agencies in Ireland.

In relation to the elements of the hygiene package that come within the remit of my Department, arrangements are being made to draft the necessary statutory instruments to ensure the legislation is implemented by the required date.

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food when she intends to introduce either regulations or legislation to implement the EU regulations on requirements for the production, transport, storage and handling of animal feed; the main elements of the regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22245/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that EU Directive 95/69/EC, as transposed into Irish legislation by SI 88 of 1999, provides for control measures in the area of production, transport, storage and handling of animal feed. This legislation has now been strengthened significantly with the introduction of EU Regulation 183/2005 which lays down additional rules for feed hygiene. The majority of this new regulation will come into effect on 1 January 2006.

The new legislation, which complements both Regulation 178/2002 on the general principles in food law and Regulation 882/2004 on official feed and food controls requires all feed businesses, including primary producers — farmers — to be either registered or approved, depending on their activities; operators, other than farmers at the level of primary production, to implement HACCP measures; the development, dissemination and use of guides to good practices to be encouraged in the feed sector; and the question of introducing financial guarantees for withdrawal from the market and destruction of affected food or feed to be explored.

The new legislation will ensure that the application of the existing registration and approval system is extended across the whole feed sector and consequently the concept of full traceability is greatly enhanced.

My Department is preparing the necessary legislation and registration forms to ensure the new provisions come into effect on 1 January 2006.