Eradicating BSE cost taxpayer €1bn
The State’s financial watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General, yesterday said the costs will continue to mount if existing disease control programmes continue.
It has also emerged that the Department of Agriculture has spent just €2.4m on research into the disease, despite the massive amounts spent tackling BSE.
Members of the Oireachtas Public Account Committee yesterday questioned whether the Department had overreacted to the disease threat by destroying entire herds of cattle rather than taking a more selective approach.
Fianna Fáil TD Batt O’Keeffe, said: “The question has to be asked whether they went over the top by taking out entire pedigree herds at a time when countries like France are reviewing the way they are eradicating BSE.”
While €1bn was clocked up over a 10-year period, almost half of this was spent during the two worst years of the BSE crisis in 2000 and 2001.
However, secretary general of the Department of Agriculture John Malone said money spent tackling the disease was paying off and they were now winning the battle against BSE.
“There is clear evidence of an improving trend in relation to BSE in Ireland. From the age profile of cases now identified, it is clear that additional controls introduced in 1996 and 1997 had an effect in reducing exposure to infectivity,” Mr Malone said.
The department chief said that, while the costs were considerable, they had a major impact in stabilising markets, protecting the industry and dealing with the disease.
The Government’s heavy expenditure on BSE was also examined by an independent panel of financial experts who last year called for a reduction in State subsidies for the disease eradication programme.
Mr Malone said the cost of BSE testing for new cattle was being transferred to the industry, while the Government was reducing its contribution to the cost of rendering and destroying meat and bonemeal.
He also said that, while €2.4m was spent on research into the disease, the department funded other projects and was able to draw on the resources of major research in Britain.
The department’s position was largely echoed in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report which said efforts to retain and sustain markets appeared to have had “reasonable” success.
The report said that while compensation for BSE was likely to be reduced over the next two to five years, the expensive testing process would continue for longer in order to restore consumer confidence.
“It is likely that resources prudently invested in ensuring the highest standards of safety and quality in beef and food products generally will yield economic as well as health benefits,” the report said.
