Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 407: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a plant (details supplied) in County Tyrone slaughters more than 8,000 pigs from south of the Border weekly and accounts for approximately 15% of south of the Border pig production annually; the steps he proposes to take to protect southern producers who export to processors north of the Border in the event of a recurrence of the damaging dioxin incident or some such outbreak or scare; his views on whether Irish pig producers are entitled to the same levels of support, protection and emergency assistance, if needed, as fellow Irish pig producers who supply to processors based in the Twenty-six Counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21436/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that cross-Border trade is a significant feature in the pig sector. As regards the dioxin contamination incident, the Government made financial assistance available for pigmeat subject to the recall initiated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, i.e. pigmeat derived from pigs slaughtered in Ireland. Pigmeat derived from pigs slaughtered in Northern Ireland was subject to the recall initiated there and the financial assistance subsequently made available by the Northern Ireland authorities.

In regard to possible future food safety issues, my Department will continue to afford primacy to protection of the consumer. While each issue will have to be assessed individually, I do not envisage as a general rule that this would involve differentiated treatment at farm level on the basis of usual places of slaughter.