Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she is taking to introduce a clear and transparent food labelling system here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5637/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Consumers are entitled to and should be provided with full information on foodstuffs. In this context, my Department continues to give considerable attention to food labelling. Given the complexities involved, with account having to be taken of EU legislation and the Single Market, a food labelling group was established in 2002 to examine the matter in detail. Since then, my Department has pursued assiduously the implementation of the recommendations of the food labelling group. A total of 19 of the 21 recommendations, many of which were beyond the remit of my Department and some which were to be activated only after others had been completed, have been addressed. The remaining two recommendations, which relate to aspects of origin labelling, are also being addressed.

Arising from the implementation of the group's recommendations, the enforcement of all food labelling regulations has been centralised in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI. This not only streamlines the enforcement measures but it also provides a one-stop shop for any complaints on mislabelling of food. In addition, the responsibility for food labelling policy, with the exception of fish, has been assigned to the Department of Health and Children and my Department in accordance with another recommendation of the food labelling group. Accordingly, the Department of Health and Children is responsible for general labelling regulations which require information on food labels to be given clearly, accurately and in a language understood by the consumer. My Department is responsible for more detailed legislation on the labelling of specific food products, including beef and poultry meat.

An enabling provision to allow for the extension of existing comprehensive beef labelling regulations to include a requirement for information on the country of origin of beef to be provided to the consumer at the point of choice by establishments in the retail, restaurant and catering sectors, including food business operators, is at present before the Dáil by way of amendment to section 54 of the Health Act 1947 through the Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005. The Report Stage of the Bill was debated yesterday, Wednesday, 15 February. It will now proceed to the Seanad for Report and Final Stages.

My Department is well advanced in drafting the consequential beef regulations and is currently in consultation with the Department of Health and Children and the FSAI on the details, including enforcement. While the regulations will then have to be submitted for EU approval, it is hoped that this process will not delay the making of the final regulations. In the meantime, the representative bodies for hotels, restaurants and pubs have agreed to recommend to their members to provide the information on a voluntary basis.

I have also written to the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection requesting that consideration be given to extending the rules in regard to country of origin labelling at EU level. I had raised the matter in the Agriculture Council some months ago.

While the proposed enabling legislation currently before the House will facilitate the extension of country of origin labelling to all meats, because of different traceability systems and some import-export complexities, it is not as straightforward as it is for beef. As with beef, EU approval would also be required. Notwithstanding these issues, I intend to pursue the matter of country of origin labelling at EU level and national level.