HQ opens in rural Meath
Inspectors from the European Union’s purpose-built Food and Veterinary Office located on a nine hectare landscaped site at Grange in Co Meath carry out checks worldwide as part of their remit.
They are responsible for ensuring that EU rules on food, live animals and plant products are kept, within the community itself and in countries exporting to it.
The European Commission takes obvious pride in the decision to locate the 35 million centre in rural Ireland, far from Brussels, where most of the EU offices are based.
David Byrne, Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, who attended the official opening, described it as an excellent example of the practical work of one of the EU institutions.
“Too often we hear talk of the European Commission as being remote, unaccountable, and so on - the sort of criticism that comes up regularly, not just in Ireland but in other parts of the EU as well. Here in Grange we have the reality, not the fiction put out by our critics. An operation run by the European Commission to enforce EU laws, agreed by the Council and the democratically elected European Parliament, with practical benefit to all of the people of the European Union.”
However, the decision to site the 12,500 square metre building with cellular offices for 250 staff and parking space for 150 cars in the Boyne Valley was symbolic in another sense.
The area is home to some of Europe’s finest ancient monuments, such as Newgrange and Knowth. Five thousand years ago it was a thriving, farming community, whose traditions were shared by other European peoples.
Later, it saw the first arrival of Christianity from Europe. And, like the rest of Ireland, it went on to develop even stronger links with Europe in medieval and modern times.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern mentioned that rich historical background, when he officially opened the building, because, he said, he believed that we must never forget that modern Ireland is tied to Europe by shared historic realities, by common values and by enduring common interests.
Mr Ahern warmly acknowledged the role of former Taoiseach John Bruton and the leadership that he gave in moving the Food and Veterinary Office project forward at the vital early stages. “We in Ireland know that food safety is essential both to public health and to international trade in our agricultural and food products. We now have the greatest focus we have ever had on food safety with a top class traceability system.
We are determined to accept nothing less than full compliance with the new rules in order to uphold consumer confidence in Irish farming as a source of high quality food.”
Designed by the Office of Public Works, the Grange building features a courtyard, a large conference hall with translation facilities for 15 languages, a small one with translation facilities for four languages, a staff creche, a reference library, restaurant and cafeteria. The award-winning OPW design team headed by architect Ciaran O’Connor, working with McNamara Builders, incorporated materials and fittings from EU member states.
Commissioner Byrne said he found the links with the past especially appealing, particularly the amphitheatre, and the spiral mound to the side of the building, which evokes the pre-Christian passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. People from 14 EU member states are represented on the existing staff of 150 at Grange, where Dr Colm Gaynor, the former chief veterinary officer with the Department of Agriculture and Food, will shortly take up duty as director.
About 100 of the staff are inspectors, who carried out more than 200 rule enforcement checks in 52 different countries last year.
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