The decision by the Egyptian government to ban imports of European Union beef because of BSE and the prospect of stringent new controls on all EU beef represent a body blow to rural Ireland from which it will be difficult to recover in the short to medium term. Ireland is, unfortunately, caught in the middle of a crisis of confidence among European consumers and purchasers of EU beef exports, despite the exceptionally stringent national controls imposed here since 1996. Farm leaders will undoubtedly press the Government and the EU to compensate for the shock to their levels of income, but their industry will have a lot more trouble adapting to this blow against its credibility and good standing.
Ireland is much the most dependent EU member-state on exports of beef and is therefore highly vulnerable to such shocks in EU and external markets. Despite convincing evidence that no EU herds are immune from BSE, national controls in France, Germany and Spain have been much less stringent than in Ireland. These countries have also blocked the imposition of equally stringent EU controls until this crisis, in the belief that the disease was localised in certain member-states. The sudden collapse of consumer confidence following evidence that this is not so has had a devastating effect on their beef industries. It has led to the proposals made yesterday by the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, and his colleague, Mr David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, that all feedstuffs based on animal and bone meal should be banned temporarily for fear that small amounts could have been diverted to feed cattle. They are also calling for all beef animals over 30 months to be tested for BSE - a costly but necessary measure to reassure panicking consumers. Already the consequences of such a decision on alternative feedstuffs, including genetically-modified soya beans from the United States, are moving fast up the EU agenda. All this amply confirms suggestions made when this Commission took office in 1999 that food safety would become a major policy preoccupation during its five year term, based on widespread consumer concern. Mr Byrne has found himself more and more in the foreground of these events, which he has handled with expertise, good judgment and a real awareness of public relations. He will certainly need these skills if this crisis is to be overcome effectively. Food production has become such a major international industry that it requires the closest scrutiny and regulation, based on best scientific practice. Where a culture of profit-maximisation has been allowed priority over safety, as happened in Britain in the 1980s and early 1990s when controls on animal feedstuffs were relaxed, later generations and neighbouring peoples are deeply affected.
The experience gained in handling BSE in Ireland and at EU level demonstrates that international regulation can work and that consumer confidence in beef can be restored. Drastic action is probably required to ensure that outcome on this occasion. It is the misfortune of Ireland's beef industry that its best practice of stringent national controls is only now, belatedly, becoming generalised throughout the EU. Its pioneering efforts should be recognised as compensation is negotiated. The same point will assuredly be made to the Egyptian government in coming days, as Irish representatives seek to convince them that Irish beef is among the safest on the international market.