Debate - Pork dioxin scare

Monday 15 March 2010

(Agriculture and Rural Development)

A contamination scare in the Irish Republic badly damaged the Northern Ireland pork industry in 2008. The results of an inquiry into the incident have recently been published.

Mr Burns: As a member of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, I support the motion. I endorse wholeheartedly the findings of the inquiry into the dioxin contamination incident of December 2008, and I call for a speedy introduction of the report's recommendations. I thank all those who provided written submissions to the inquiry and all those who gave oral evidence to the Committee.

The incident was nothing short of a disaster, and a lot of damage was done. Therefore, we must make the necessary changes quickly to protect the Northern Ireland agriculture industry. The report makes many recommendations, but, given that those who conducted the extensive investigation considered practically every e-mail that was sent and every phone call that was made, time does not permit me to go into every point in detail. However, I will say a few words about the recommendations that I think are the most important.

It was absolutely clear that the single biggest weakness in the system was the line of communication. I do not wish to dwell on that point too much, but the fact that our Minister learned about the scare on the RTÉ news was completely disgraceful. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the South has a lot to answer for. However, even though its behaviour in that instance left a lot to be desired, we cannot overlook the positive work and co-operation that has taken place in dealing with other issues in the past. I, therefore, hope that that was a one-off and that there will be greater and more efficient co-operation on agriculture on an all-island basis in the future.

Good communication at all levels of the industry is vital in a time of crisis. Therefore, DARD must review and overhaul its communication process, and the incident management team must be set up as quickly as possible. It is they who should assume responsibility for communicating a single, clear and consistent message and for creating an early warning strategy. Furthermore, the number of agencies that are responsible for food safety in Northern Ireland must be streamlined. Too many agencies have their own specific roles and do their own thing. Most of the time, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing, and that is just not good enough, because we must be ready for other similar incidents that might happen tomorrow.

The aid package that was put together was simply not good enough. The compensation was nowhere near what was required, and it certainly did not help the beef and dairy sectors or other associated businesses. However, there is still time to review that, and I urge the Minister and the Executive to do so immediately.

The report is not about placing blame, but there were certainly people who got things wrong, and they know who they are. Although no damage was done to public health, there was certainly no happy ending. The extent of the damage to the industry and the fact that the pig sector has struggled to recover are clear evidence of that. Lessons must be learned, and such a badly managed crisis must not be allowed to happen again.