20/01/10

The manner in which the report into the December 2008 dioxin contamination of pork was released late in the day yesterday, denying members of the public and opposition spokespersons an opportunity to scrutinise it properly, was cynical in the extreme. The report was spun by the Minister yesterday to present the owner of plant as the person most culpable, but closer reading of the report shows that there were serious issues around Department's role in the scandal.

For instance there was no legislation governing the direct drying of feed ingredients or animal feed, and the report states that this should be pursued by the Irish Government.I asked the Secretary General of the Dept during the hearings whether or not there was adequate legislation governing the use of such materials. I did not receive an adequate answer to that question.It is clear also that the Dept failed in its duty to verify that the plant owner was "complying with the legislation" in that the HACCP was not fit for purpose, and the inspection regime of the premises was inadequate.The report states that new systems operated by the Dept have since been developed to include an assessment as to whether the HACCP is fit for purpose.While there is criticism of the plant owner, and of Carlow County Council, the report tells us that there was not enough attention paid by the Department "to the risks associated with direct flame drying".We heard a lot about Garda investigations and I sense that this was nothing more than a spin by the Minister for the sake of political expediency. It would be far more honest of him to admit that there were deficiencies in the Department's own systems, and if this were acknowledged publicly by the minister, we could all move on.

 

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