Fine Gael TD for Limerick has welcomed the manner in which the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has moved to reassure people of the safety of Irish Beef. Speaking after the Minister addressed Dáil Éireann on reports from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Patrick O’Donovan said he believed that the response from the Department of Agriculture was measured and was done to ensure that people were reassured.
Patrick O’Donovan welcomed the Minister’s commitment to have the matter fully investigated and his assurance that he would present the findings of the investigation to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture. Patrick O’Donovan said “We have a safe food industry here in Ireland with the highest standards of traceability and food safety. The food industry as a whole makes a huge contribution to the national economy and the local economy of Co. Limerick, that is why the response from the Minister for Agriculture to this issue is proportionate and measured to reassure consumers of Irish food that it is among the most traceable and safest of any country in the world.”
“Irish food producers and processors go to great lengths every day to ensure that the food they produce is traceable and safe. The Minister has given a commitment to investigate fully this issue and the related matters that were raised in the Dáil and I believe that the industry can be assured of his leadership on this.”