BSE CASES might treble here by the end of the year, the Minister of Agriculture told the Seanad last night. But in a national herd of seven million cattle the incidence of the disease would still be very low, said Mr Yates who pointed out that there had been 6 cases last year.
A clear link had been established between the rise in cases and animal feeds, he said. A task force had been put in place which would be extremely vigilant in implementing regulations on the sale and purchase of bonemeal.
Measures he had taken, coupled with the "now totally effective control of meat and bonemeal" and the removal of meat from "depopulated" herds, were a collective series of responses that any government in Europe would be proud of.
Mr Yates declared he had no hesitation in saying that Irish beef was safe.
During noisy interruptions from the Opposition benches, the Minister accused political opponents of misleading farmers and of driving them "hysterical".
It shocked him that the Cork Examiner reported BSE cases in Cork as if they were murders. Embassies in this country sent press clippings to their home nations and this provided the basis for domestic media coverage in such countries. Reports that Iraq and Libya were following suit in relation to Russia were patent nonsense.
He said we could stand over our BSE controls, but if they needed to be tightened further, he was prepared to do that. We currently had the strictest policy in the world on BSE eradication.
Mr John Farrelly (FG) said the Opposition was "hyping" the latest BSE developments, particularly the Fianna Fail leader and the party's spokesman on agriculture. This amounted to national sabotage, he believed.
Criticising the three-county exclusion from the Russian trade, the former Minister for Agriculture, Mr Michael O'Kennedy, said the Minister had been forced to justify a decision which he himself acknowledged was not based on scientific data.
What was worrying was that other countries were likely to follow suit. Reports were circulating that Iran and Libya, two very important markets, were seeking similar restrictions. The Minister must make it clear to them that he would not concede the same principle as he had done in the Russian case.
Mr John Dardis (PD) said an epidemiologist from Russia was staying in Ireland at present. Where were our epidemiologists and what were we doing through science to reassure our customers and establish scientifically the quality of our beef.
We needed an inspectorate in this country which would be independent of the Department of Agriculture so that people could be assured of the safety of our beef.
On claims of "national sabotage" by parts of the Opposition, Mr Dardis declared: "It is not those who speak out about difficulties in the industry who are responsible for national sabotage. It is the people who use angel dust, who re-box the beef and sell it as something other than what it is, who tamper with tags and animals, and who protest that TB is not being eradicated."
Mr Joe O'Toole (Ind) said there was a danger that Irish agriculture would collapse in the years ahead, and the thing that would collapse it would not be BSE but market forces globally. If we did not prepare our farmers for market changes we would pay a far greater price in the lone term.
Mr Bill Cotter (FG) said the IFA had substantial and lucrative investments abroad. They should bring home some of these monies and invest them in research here to protect the welfare of the market they had been screaming about in such ludicrous terms. There should be a partnership approach to the kind of research that was needed.
Mr Sean Byrne (FF) appealed to Government leaders to go to Russia, in the national interest, to get our image restored as beef producers.
The meat and bonemeal ban did not seem to have been implemented effectively, he added. Was anyone going to be held accountable for this?
Mr Rory Kiely (FF) said that one of the most extraordinary features of the crisis had been how Minister Yates managed to cave in to a November 1st ultimatum on October 11th. The Minister should have prolonged the talks to play for time. This would have given the opportunity to the Taoiseach and Tanaiste to make a political approach.