The single outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic last year cost the Exchequer over €1 billion and the tourism sector €200 million, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine was told yesterday.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Mr Walsh, said that while the economic analysis of the crisis was still being finalised, they would show that there were gains for the agriculture sector.
The analysis indicated, he said, that had widespread outbreaks occurred, costs to the agriculture sector would have ranged between €1 billion and €5.3 billion or 5.41 per cent of GDP.
"On top of such costs, sectors such as tourism would also have suffered even more serious and prolonged damage and significant losses," he said.
Mr Walsh, who had moved a resolution that would allow the special powers given to the authorities to cope with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last year, to remain in force until 8th March 2003.
Replying to questions from the committee on how many people had been charged for breaches of the regulations arising from the outbreak, the Minister said that three cases had been dealt with by the courts. He said a further 39 individuals and two meat premises were being investigated over matters arising out of the investigations surrounding the outbreak and other related issues.
He said that nine files had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and these involved fraud, extortion and obstruction and evidence would be taken up by the DPP.
All the committee members praised the Minister and his Department for the work they had done in preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease but Mr Alan Dukes, the Fine Gael spokesman on agriculture, complained that action had not been taken quickly enough by the Minister when the disease broke out in Britain.
He urged an updating of the manual to deal with outbreaks, such as the one last year to take account of the swift spread of diseases such as foot-and mouth disease. On related issues, Mr Walsh said the lack of an incinerator in the State had made the destruction of meat and bonemeal from BSE infected animals very difficult.
He said it was costing the Department £230 to £250 per tonne to dispose of meat and bone meal. There was already 200,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal in storage and the State was generating 150,000 tonnes of the material annually.
Mr Walsh also said the bodies of 300 animals which had contracted the disease were being stored in deep freeze since the decision was taken that they could not be buried and there was no where to incinerate them.
In reply to complaints from Mr Paul Connaughton, FG, that it was costing farmers more to dispose of dead sheep than they were worth when they were alive, the Minister said he would look at the possibility of extending the subsidy the Department gives to dispose of cattle.