LESSONS, as Brian Cowen said, will have to be learned from the dioxin scare that has disrupted the pig producing and processing industry and carries a potential cost to the taxpayer of €180 million. It is not just the exposure to financial loss that is a cause for concern. The weaknesses and failings within the monitoring, licensing and traceability systems will have to be addressed and corrected to ensure that nothing like this can happen again.
As might be expected, the Government has been accused of poor judgment and of over-reaction for recalling all pig products going back to September 1st. But EU law is unequivocal about the need for such a response where contaminated food is concerned. The Government was operating on the best available advice from the Food Safety Authority, An Bord Bia and the Department of Health. It could have prevaricated, pending further detailed investigations and consultations. But the experience of Belgium and Italy, where consumers lost confidence in the safety of specific food products because of official delays, shows that such a response can be more damaging in the long term.
We export one-third of our pork production. And while its value pales into insignificance compared to our beef output, it represents an integral part of the national food brand. Damage to foreign consumer confidence affecting one type of meat would have had an inevitable impact on the other. That is why swift and decisive action, demonstrating clearly that the interests of consumers take precedence, was necessary. A subsequent announcement by EU authorities that the contaminated meat did not pose a risk to public health should now be used to promote the rigour of our food safety standards in all export markets.
It is unacceptable that dioxins found their way into the food chain. This calls for a total recasting of licensing procedures. In the past, farming organisations and processors, particularly in the pig and poultry sectors, resisted the involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency in awarding licences and in monitoring inputs, output and effluents. That must change. Strict quality controls go hand-in-hand with strict enforcement. And regular monitoring of plants and farms represents a vital component of that system.
We have seen how vulnerable one of our most important industries can become when things go wrong. We must learn from these failures. It must not become a case of "business as usual" next week, with the taxpayer being left to pick up much of the bill. Reforms are urgently required in the licensing, processing and traceability systems affecting sections of the food chain. Consumer confidence and product quality are the keys to sustainability and growth, particularly where export markets are concerned. Regulatory and monitoring regimes can no longer reflect the interests of producers or processors. Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith faces a daunting task. But he should take no prisoners in his efforts to protect the consumer and safeguard the public purse.