This article is from page 36 of the 2008-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
deserve great credit for exposing the fact that EU farmers were not playing on an even pitch with Brazilian producers and for persisting in their campaign against the background of scepticism by the EU Food and Veterinary Office,” she
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ICSA president, Malcolm Thomp- son also welcomed the full ban but said that the campaign against Bra- Zilian beef was only beginning.
“ICSA has always maintained that restrictions were inadequate and nothing but a full ban was ever go- ing to be enough, until the Brazilians produce beef to EU standards,” he Sr HLOe
“ICSA has delivered this temporary ban for Irish farmers by initiating the campaign to ban Brazilian beef in June 2002, and it has been a long and hard fought campaign, but we do not necessarily believe it 1s over, and it will not be over until the EU finally
concedes that imported food must be produced to the same high standards as domestically produced food.”
Speaking before the announcement of an all-out ban, Clare TD Timmy Dooley (FF) welcomed the action against Brazilian beef imports and said that is only right that the same rules that apply to EU food produc- ers should apply to companies seek- ing to sell their products in the EU.
‘This debate has been ongoing for some months now and the EU gave the Brazilian Government numerous opportunities to clean up it’s act with regard to the operation of the beef in- dustry,’ he said.
“Every time EU veterinary offi-
cials visited Brazil, they came back to Europe with more questions than answers. This was simply an unac- ceptable situation and the European Union had to respond accordingly.
“EU Governments and the EU Commission together have taken the decision to significantly curtail Bra- Zilian beef imports into the European Union and it starts this Thursday.
“It 1s only fair that there is a level playing pitch and that the same rules apply to farmers and the food sec- tor outside and inside of the EU. No other decision would have been fair to farmers and beef producers in Ire- land, or indeed to the consumers of beef in Ireland.”