Martin slams 4-week delay over horsemeat results

A four-week delay between initial test results showing horsemeat in beef burgers and the agriculture minister being informed was “not good enough”, according to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.

The Government defended the failure to make earlier tests public, saying “conclusive results” only became available last Friday and that the minister, Simon Coveney, was informed on Monday.

Initial tests were carried out in November and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland contacted the Department of Agriculture on Dec 21 to ask for assistance in obtaining further tests.

Those tests were sent to Germany and returned last Friday, the department was told on Monday, and the minister told the Cabinet on Tuesday.

Later that day, a press release was issued saying traces of horse DNA had been detected in frozen beef burgers in five supermarket chains.

Burgers being sold in Tesco and produced by Silvercrest Food contained 29% horsemeat.

During leaders’ questions, Mr Martin said the “fundamental question” was why the minister was not informed until this week that tests were being carried out and positive results for horse DNA had been found.

“Why was the minister not told in November or December that a major issue in relation to the reputation of our food industry had arisen,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a good enough answer to say ‘well we had to get it confirmed in Germany before we told the minister’.”

Brendan Howlin, the public expenditure and reform minister, said that for the sake of the food industry and the thousands of people it employed, it was important to discuss the issue “in a measured, open and transparent way”.

He said Ireland had one of the best oversight systems in the world, saying “Britain does not have the same level of testing that we have here”.

“The food safety standards and the oversight procedures we have in this country have worked. They identified it. Irish product was examined by Irish authorities and made known by Irish authorities. The standards we demand will be and are being maintained.”

Mr Martin also called for a traceability system to be introduced for horsemeat because the number of horses slaughtered here had rocketed last year to 20,000.