Ciarán Mullooly: Brazilian beef banned in Ireland from Sept 3
Ciarán Mullooly confirms in Brussels that Brazilian beef will no longer be allowed to be sold in Ireland from Thursday 3 September, citing unresolved safety concerns raised over two years.
He says the decision follows evidence submitted to the Food Safety Commissioner, including a written intervention from former EFSA chief Patrick Wall, and signals at least a two-year pause before any reconsideration.
Ciarán Mullooly told officials in the office of the Food Safety Commissioner, that Brazilian beef will be prohibited from entering the Irish market from 3 September. Transit consignments already en route will pass, but no new product from Brazil will be permitted on safety grounds.
Mullooly highlighted alleged illegal use of animal hormones and other drugs in Brazilian production, issues he says Independent Ireland raised repeatedly over the last two years. He presented written evidence from Patrick Wall, former Chief Executive of the European Food Authority, to press the case with the Commissioner.
Mullooly described the outcome as a positive result for farmers and those who opposed the earlier provisional deal, citing public meetings in Athlone and votes in Brussels. He said the ban removes even token imports and that he expects the issue to remain closed for at least two years while Brazilian authorities address implementation.
Mullooly indicated his team will continue to challenge the implementation procedure and monitor compliance with the decision. The announcement shifts the dispute from negotiation to enforcement and sets a timeline for when the question might be reopened.
He says the decision follows evidence submitted to the Food Safety Commissioner, including a written intervention from former EFSA chief Patrick Wall, and signals at least a two-year pause before any reconsideration.
Decision confirmed
Ciarán Mullooly told officials in the office of the Food Safety Commissioner, that Brazilian beef will be prohibited from entering the Irish market from 3 September. Transit consignments already en route will pass, but no new product from Brazil will be permitted on safety grounds.
Safety concerns and evidence
Mullooly highlighted alleged illegal use of animal hormones and other drugs in Brazilian production, issues he says Independent Ireland raised repeatedly over the last two years. He presented written evidence from Patrick Wall, former Chief Executive of the European Food Authority, to press the case with the Commissioner.
Farmers and political context
Mullooly described the outcome as a positive result for farmers and those who opposed the earlier provisional deal, citing public meetings in Athlone and votes in Brussels. He said the ban removes even token imports and that he expects the issue to remain closed for at least two years while Brazilian authorities address implementation.
Next steps and oversight
Mullooly indicated his team will continue to challenge the implementation procedure and monitor compliance with the decision. The announcement shifts the dispute from negotiation to enforcement and sets a timeline for when the question might be reopened.
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Transcript
After two years of work on the issue of Delighted Stairs, I spoke this afternoon to the officials of the Food Safety Commissioner, Oliver Verriely, in Brussels, and confirmed now, beyond any doubt, that, in fact, Brazilian beef will no longer be allowed to be sold in Ireland after next Thursday, the 3rd of September. There will be some meat in transit at that stage, which will go through, but no new product will come out of Brazil on the grounds of safety, on the grounds that they have failed to address the issues that Independent Ireland has raised for the last two years, issues with regard to the illegal use of animal hormone and, indeed, the illegal use of other drugs over the last two years. From day one, we said it was not acceptable that this would happen. We were told it was going to go ahead. We were opposed. They had provisionally implemented the deal. They still said they were going to go ahead. Yet we brought the evidence to the Commissioner. We brought the evidence of the former Chief Executive of the European Food Authority, Mr. Patrick Wall, in writing to the Commissioner, telling him that it was impossible for this meat to come back on the safe list on the 3rd of September. And I am pleased the Commissioner now accepted that, and we go forward with, effectively, a ban on Brazilian beef, and, indeed, an outlook from our perspective that it will be at least two years before this issue can be looked at again, because it's going to take that period for the Brazilian authorities to even look at an implementation. And, of course, we will challenge the implementation procedure in the meantime as well. So, a good day for farmers, for the people who turned up in Athlon last January, a very good day. You started the opposition to this. We continued it with the vote in Brussels and, indeed, with the issue of Paddy Wall's direct intervention, which was crucial in this, as former Health Minister himself in Europe. Today, I'm delighted to confirm, there will be not even a token element of Brazilian beef. People have started to argue to us in the last few days that we're going to see a couple of smaller farms, who had tagging going back two years. I've confirmed today with the Commissioner's office there are no Brazilian farms going to be allowed to sell Brazilian beef in this country from the 3rd of September onwards.