The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, has defended his comments about beef on the bone, against sharp criticism from Opposition deputies. He stood over his public statement, issued on Friday, recommending that beef on the bone should be removed from shops.
Mr Cowen told the Dail that "my primary duty as Minister for Health and Children is the protection of public health. In that regard my main concern in that regard, is to ensure that the consumer is kept informed of any risk to food safety however small."
The Minister said he consulted the CJD advisory group, consisting of a wide range of experts in Ireland, following the UK announcement about beef on the bone.
The group made a number of recommendations having looked at the information available from UK research. The advisory body recommended that no meat with a backbone vertebrate be sold to the consumer, that the most practical way was through butchers, and that bones be disposed of as not fit for human consumption and that the matter be raised "at community level".
Ms Liz McManus (DL, Wicklow) said the Minister's statement was very inadequate and not helpful, and since he made the statement there had been alternative opinions expressed by highly reputable experts.
The Minister said his statement was precautionary advice and was "very clear, very simple". It was "measured, reasonable and rational".
He pointed out that the situation in the Republic was completely different from the UK. There were far more stringent conditions in Ireland and a much lower incidence of CJD and any suggestion that he was in any way equating the situation with the UK was wrong.
Mr John Farrelly (FG, Meath) claimed the Minister had brought the beef industry to its knees by his statement and that British buyers had refused to buy any more beef on the bone from Irish producers.
The Minister said the deputy was "totally wrong" and pointed out that 95 per cent of Irish beef exports to the UK were boneless.
Mr Alan Shatter (FG, Dublin South) asked if the Minister accepted that there was a one in 600 million possibility of someone contracting CJD through the risk of on-the-bone beef.
The Minister replied that he had a duty to inform the public of a risk, no matter how minimal and the public was entitled to that information.