Danny Healy-Rae Questions Beef Traceability and Labelling at Committee

I suppose before I left here, and I'm sorry I had to go, the part that Michael Fitzmaurice was questioning on was very interesting. It seems to me that what's happening in relation to these products that are coming in and the accountability and the traceability is very haphazard altogether. How many in staff have we employed directly on traceability? And labelling, and to ensure that what's on the label is coming from where it's supposed to be. So I think I agree to give the figures later on. I don't have them to hand, but roughly it's about 500 individuals who are, through the agencies, undertaking inspections, which includes confirmation of food control and labelling. Just go on very fast. In relation to beef coming into the country, and I, like many others, didn't know that there was any beef, only very little coming in from Brazil. But now we find there's a lot of it coming in. So, do we know what ports it comes in through? Yes or no? Yeah, that information is available. Yeah. Which ports do we come in through? Do we know? Yes or no? So it would come in through Dublin, BCD? So it can't just come in through any port. It has to come in through designated places called border-controlled posts. In Ireland, there's one in Russell Air, one in Dublin, one in Dublin Airport, and one in Shannon Airport. That's the four. Is there... The bulk of it comes into Dublin Port, Debbie? Right. So do we have people there monitoring every load that comes in? So, under service contract to us, Department of Agriculture, have people there conducting checks on the loads as they come in. Every load? There's 100% documentary checks on every load, and then there's a lower frequency of physical checks on loads. So it's not 100% of physical checks. Every load is not tested 100%. Is there a problem in relation to quotes that come in directly from Brazil? Can you actually trace or examine or assess quotes as good as you could carcasses? The majority of what comes from Brazil is cut beef, or from third countries in general. And it is, yes, it's labelled. It has the documentation that we discussed earlier, the Shed documents accompanying it, which... But is it impossible, actually, physically impossible, to assess those quotes properly? No, it's certainly not physically impossible, no, because they, as my colleague from the Food Safety Authority has mentioned, the percentage of them are subjected to physical checks where they're actually... It's opened, it's examined, it's cut, it's actually even... A portion of it may be cooked. This is all prescribed in EU legislation, how that has to happen. And that's to ensure that there's a standardisation across the EU in terms of how we inspect these consignments on arrival. And how do the man is then... This man we had in last week, he said that there was 1% of Brazilian beef and 99% Irish beef. Where was that mixed, or how did that happen? Who vetted that? Who can vote for that, that that's actually what was in his package? I'm not sure. I think in that particular instance, I think it would have to be taken up with the food business operator himself. The who? With the person concerned, I think it would have to be taken up with them. All I can say is in terms of the... Sorry, we have to take his word on it. Well, I'm not... We have no other way of... Our focus is on the labelling of beef. That's grand, but to see it was on the label that there was 1% and 99% Irish. Who's vouching for that? Is it just we're taking his word for it? Or is there any other man or woman here inside that can tell us that they have vetted and that that's what it was? I think we're veering into talking about an individual who appeared before the committee last week for three hours and is not here today to defend themselves, if that's... Deputy, your focus is on labelling. Yes, but this was on the label, Chairman. If you have questions on labelling... I'm asking, see, how was that labelling proof? But if you're asking about individuals and their business, look, say focus on labelling... I didn't mention any names, so... And we need to move... I want to know, and this is not outside of labelling. There was a label up on the bloody thing that said 1% was Brazilian and 99% of it was Irish. Who votes for that? What department is responsible for that? Is it Board B? Is it the Department of Agriculture? Who is it? But, Deputy, the focus is on the labelling. Yeah, but this was on the label. There isn't a label with 1% and 99%. We'll just accept it like the consumers have to accept it. I'm asking a question inside here in the office of Linster House, the Agricultural Committee meeting. Did anyone vote for it? Surely someone have an answer as to how that's managed. We've seen all the vegetables here. Bear with me one second, Sheet. I'm naming Norcorp. There was a label... Bear with us, Deputy. Yeah, just to be clear, I mean, we've had a lengthy discussion on the legislation around labelling, and I think it's just now veering into talking about an individual company that was here, and, you know, I don't think it's appropriate they're not to defend themselves. We discussed the legislation around labelling. We made it clear that there's no Board B equality-assured logo and any product that's not Irish, and, you know, we can't really get into discussion about an individual person or company. Forget about it. I'm not forgetting about it. Deputy, she's answered the position on it. What? She's answered the position on it. If you have further questions, please go ahead. We're constrained on time, and I have two further deputies that I'd like to get in. I'm not happy with that. And with that answer, because to no answer. We take it as no answer. When we see a bag of spots there, and clearly they're not Irish. How do these bags with Tesco on the top of them and say that they're sourced and ironed in, is it over in Spain they're packaged? Or is it... Where does that happen? And who checks that? I mean, we're being led up the garden pat with these stories and grown an island in the bottom of it. Who's... What section is responsible for that? So I'll ask it another way. When the lorries come in, do we see these bags of spots come in with, you know, they're clearly from Spain and then when they're put on the shelf here in Ireland, they're grown an island. Who? Is there anyone that was checking that? So the food businesses are responsible for the labelling, but at the retail stage, for example, the inspectors from the NEHS would be checking for compliance with the legislation. So, and to the extent that there is, or in their view, there is non-compliance, they'll follow it up with the food business and then there'll be enforcement actions depending on the level of... the extent of the non-compliance and a proportionate response would be undertaken. Well, would a container load of potatoes from Spain have been met by any official here in any one of our ports as they came in? Would they have been met at that stage? No. No, they wouldn't, Deputy. There's free movement of goods within the EU. You're giving the example of Spain, Deputy. Spain is within the common market, so there's free movement of goods from Spain to Ireland, for instance. Why I'm questioning that is, practically every vegetable grower here in Ireland has gone out to business. Surely some man worth his salt could go into a container coming from Spain and see that they were coming from Spain and see the label and the bottom of it grown in Ireland. Do you agree with me about that? I'm hearing this example for the first time, so we might take that away and just clarify the actual example. If we could get the label.