Seanad row erupts over claim Brazilian beef used in school meals

Senators accuse Ciaran Mullooly of 'scaremongering' and demand he withdraw his remarks

Ciaran Mullooly: 'It is not scaremongering, I absolutely refute any suggestion that it is.' File picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A row has broken out in the Seanad after an Irish MEP claimed that Brazilian and UK beef was being used in school meals.

Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly was part of a delegation of Midlands-North West MEPs addressing the Upper House on Wednesday. 

They had met with European Commissioner for health and animal welfare Oliver Varhelyi about the safety of Brazilian beef.

The EU in March announced that beef from Brazil will be banned from the EU from September 3 unless Brazil complies with EU rules on antibiotic use in animals throughout their lifetime.

Mr Mullooly said he would "not wait" until then and claimed there was a "major problem" with premade meals containing UK beef making their way into Irish schools, hospitals and nursing homes.

"Why should we sit by in a calm and a relaxed basis while Brazilian beef comes in, especially in pre-packed meals, into our schools with a question mark over it? And it is not scaremongering, I absolutely refute any suggestion that it is."

His comments sparked anger from Fine Gael senators including Linda Nelson Murray, who was co-author of a report on school meals.

"I wrote a 48-page report on hot school meals," she said.

"I visited suppliers the length and breadth of the country. I visited schools. 

"The Joint Committee on Education and Youth had numerous witnesses and stakeholders in to discuss the issue and never once did I hear that there was Brazilian beef in hot school meals. 

"Some €300m is spent on hot school meals in Ireland. That goes to companies. Some 3,200 primary schools avail of the programme. Some 500,000 students avail of it.

"How dare Mr. Mullooly MEP sit there and say that the hot school meals programme is using Brazilian beef? How dare he scaremonger? 

"The Society of St Vincent de Paul last year had 112,000 requests for food assistance. There is a massive problem with child food poverty in Ireland. 

"What Mr Mullooly has just done is to scare the parents, principals, and teachers by talking about Brazilian beef in hot school meals." 

Ms Murray and her colleague, Paraic Brady, called on Mr Mullooly to withdraw the comments.

Mr Brady said: "As Trump said in America, false information can be damaging at all times. 

"Mr Mullooly knows that was false. I ask him to withdraw his comments in this House today. I ask him to get up and confirm it was false information."

Mr Mullooly later said that while the EU is auditing Brazilian beef, there needed to be a "focus" on UK beef, sparking interruptions from Mr Brady who called the comments "detrimental" and "criminal".