Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 407: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the amount of beef that has been imported from Brazil in 2005; the records tracing the source of this beef; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8824/06]

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 408: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the quantities of lamb that have been imported from New Zealand in 2005; the records tracing the source of this lamb; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8825/06]

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 409: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the amount of pork that has been imported from the USA in 2005; the records pertaining to this pork tracing where it originated from; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8826/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 407 to 409, inclusive, together.

The Central Statistics Office is responsible for the collection of statistics in relation to imports of meat and meat products. The table below is compiled from data supplied by that office and the following should be noted — information on imports for 2005 is available for the period up to October 2005, in certain cases the record of import may include the re-import of Irish products that were originally the subject of an export from this country and the information available for imports from EU member states does not differentiate between products originating in the EU country and those originating in third countries that may already be in free circulation within the Community.

Imported meat and meat products must be sourced from establishments that are approved and must bear an EU approved health mark. Exporting establishments must have standards equivalent to the requirements for EU export establishments, effective control systems and supervision by the competent authorities and traceability-labelling in accordance with the systems approved by the EU's Food and Veterinary Office, FVO, and accepted and notified to the EU member states.

The FVO carries out inspections to ensure that only establishments that meet hygiene and health standards equivalent to those operating within the EU are approved. Where the FVO considers that public health requirements are not being met, an establishment may be removed from the EU approved list. If outbreaks of animal diseases occur in a third country, approval to export to the EU is suspended for the infected regions of the country or the whole country as appropriate until the disease risk has been eliminated. There are safeguard measures in operation suspending export of beef from regions of Brazil and Argentina where outbreaks of foot and mouth disease have occurred. Safeguard measures controlling the import of poultry and poultry products have also been adopted in respect of outbreaks of avian influenza in third countries.

Imported meat and meat products must be accompanied by the appropriate commercial documentation showing country and approval number of the establishment of production and a health certificate conforming to the models set down in EU legislation. While there is free movement for trade within the EU, all consignments from third countries must first be landed at a border inspection post, BIP, approved by the FVO and there must undergo documentary, identity and physical checks. These latter are carried out at frequencies laid down in EU law. In Ireland, BIPs approved for the processing of imports of meat are located at Dublin Port and Shannon Airport. The FVO carries out monitoring and inspection of each member state's BIPs to ensure the conditions for import of animal products into Europe, provided under the harmonized legislation, are being correctly applied.

Once it has been established that imported meat and meat product has met all the required conditions, it is released for free circulation within the community. Copies of the BIP clearance document and the health certificate must accompany the consignment to its destination. Imports failing to comply with these veterinary control checks may be detained for further examination. If non-compliance is established they are returned to the exporting country or destroyed. Importers of meat must be registered with my Department and are required to give advance notice of importation. Following import, they are required to keep import records available for inspection by the Department for a period of three years.