Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

185. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he remains satisfied that food and food products, with particular reference to meat imported into this country, are subject to the highest level of inspection, quality control, hygiene and husbandry, transport and sale in accordance with EU and Irish standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39455/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I remain satisfied with the levels of inspections and controls applied to imported food and food products.

Within the European Single Market uniform rules apply to the production of food, so that food placed on the European Market, be that within a Member State, traded between Member States, imported into the European Union, or exported from the European Union, meets the same husbandry, production, and hygienic requirements necessary to protect food safety, animal and plant health, and animal welfare standards.

To ensure consistency in application of these requirements, rules are laid down in a series of European Regulations, delegated and implementing acts. Rules relating to the official controls to be imposed on the importation into the EU of live animals and plants, as well as food of plant or animal origin, are laid down in European Regulation 2017/625.

To ensure compliance with these requirements in Ireland, DAFM operates four border control posts (BCPs) at Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Rosslare Europort and Shannon Airport. At these BCPs, consignments from third countries undergo documentary, identity, and physical inspections to confirm they are in compliance with EU legislation. Consignments found not to comply with these requirements are rejected and are either destroyed, re-exported to the country of origin, or subjected to special treatment, in compliance with rules laid down in Regulation 2017/625.

In 2023, DAFM carried out in excess of 71,000 import controls across the four BCPs with 85% consignments coming from GB; the overall levels of non-compliance were very low (<1%).