madam president several farmers and a processing business in my constituency face millions of pounds of loss through no fault of their own because contaminated feed bought in good faith was supplied from a food mill where wanton disregard never mind good practice was shown
it is no surprise that there is considerable anger amongst those affected constituents
i have a series of questions for the commissioner
if they are not answered tonight i would like them to be answered in writing if that is possible
firstly what is the history of the culpable recycling feed mill in terms of compliance with eu regulations
is it a law unto itself as has been suggested
secondly did millstream have a licence to use the oil in question
if not was it not the responsibility of the member state to ensure that such defiance of basic regulatory requirements was discovered and dealt with
thirdly was millstream implementing an haccp-based risk analysis and an auto-control plan as required by the food hygiene regulation
fourthly is the commission satisfied with the level and frequency of inspections and supervision imposed by the member state on this plant and its produce given the member state's obligation to have a risk-based official control plan
was there negligence on the part of the irish authorities in enforcing with rigour the feed law and food safety requirements
fifthly in my constituency legitimate food mills have to comply with rigorous controls and standards under quality assurance schemes
why was there no equivalent scrutiny of the millstream recycling
sixthly was there any reliance upon self-certifying of safety of feed mills and if so why since that should only be permissible on small-scale operators was it allowed to apply here
finally if i might what is the precise legal basis upon which the commission agreed a large payout to the irish state as initially the commission spokesman said that no such basis existed
will there be a follow-up in terms of infringement if that member state is found to be in breach of its requirements
