The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will agree there is no more important responsibility for the Government and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine than to ensure the safety of food consumed by our citizens. The food industry is a vital one for the country. Its ultimate success depends on absolute confidence and trust in its operation, processes and, above all, in its products. Obviously, complete transparency is required at all times in the industry.

Regarding the contamination of beef products with horsemeat and pigmeat, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine said yesterday that he was told only on Monday last for the first time. I accept the Minister's word. However, does the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform believe it is acceptable that, although positive tests for such contamination were conducted and obtained in November that the Minister responsible was only told last Monday? Is it acceptable he was only told last Monday about an issue so grave and profound for the industry's reputation? The departmental officials were informed by and asked to co-operate with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, on 21 December. Does the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform believe it is acceptable that officials did not tell the Minister in December about such a serious issue?

Who is heading up the investigation into this matter? Is the FSAI involved in it and will independent experts also be involved? Is the Government prepared to introduce a traceability system for horses, similar to that which exists for cattle, pigs and sheep? Last March, following a TV3 documentary and a major exposé in The Sunday Times on the illegal slaughtering of horses, my colleague Deputy Kelleher put down a question to the Minister on this matter of traceability. The Minister confirmed in his reply that there was no central database. I understand the number of horses slaughtered in this country has rocketed to 20,000 last year. There are clearly issues in this sector. In his reply to Deputy Kelleher, the Minister also did not commit to establishing such a traceability system. Will he now rethink this and will the Government commit to establishing such a traceability regime which is important for food safety?

All Deputies will agree the food industry is a critical part of our economic activity, as well as being critical to our export sector and to jobs. That is why we have such a high standard of oversight of food production in this country. It is the best, I would say, in the world. It is important to reiterate this is not a public health issue, nor does it relate to food safety but to food standards. It is important to bear this in mind with some of the questions raised, for example, in the United Kingdom because it does not do the level of testing we do here. Our food safety authority is not only focused on ensuring that no contaminants which would impact on the health of individuals go into any food product but that food products are as labelled. These high standards have been acknowledged, even in the past 24 hours.

To answer the specific questions raised by the Deputy, it will be a matter for the FSAI to conclude its current investigations. It is being assisted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Its inspectors have gone into the meat plants in question and I understand the results of the most recent testing will be made public this afternoon. It is important we approach this entire episode in a completely open and transparent way and that the sequence of events, as laid out by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday, is clear to the House and the public so we can have confidence in robust systems. Where failings occur, they will be identified because our systems are so robust.

As to what might follow on with further legislation or food tracing systems, all of this will be addressed once we find the source of the current contamination and give absolute assurances to the Irish people who consume these products and to any exporter who buys an Irish product that the highest standards we are determined to maintain are in place. We must assure them that there is no threat either to the safety or health of anybody - which is quite clear already - and that the product that is labelled is the product people get.

The Minister did not answer my central question.

He ducked the question again.

The first batch of tests was completed at the end of November and proved positive for contamination. A further set of tests was carried out in December which proved equally positive. Why was the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine not told in November or December that such tests were being carried out and the results were positive? That is the fundamental question. Does the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform believe it is acceptable that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine was not told in December by his officials or the FSAI that a major issue regarding our food industry's reputation had arisen? It is not a good enough answer to say it had to be confirmed in Germany before the Minister was told. I asked that question yesterday and I did not get an answer. There is still no answer to it. Is it acceptable that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine was not told tests were going on and the results of these tests were positive?

This was laid out in some detail yesterday by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney. I will give Deputy Martin the sequence again for clarity. The first samples were taken by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland as part of the snapshot surveys that it does periodically across all food production in the country. These were taken in mid-November and sent for analysis to a private laboratory. In December the Food Safety Authority of Ireland took further samples at retail level and again had them analysed in a private laboratory.

We know that. The question is why the Minister was not told then.

Following this process, all the initial samples which tested positive were sent for analysis to a German laboratory, and the conclusive results from the German laboratory were received by the FSAI on Friday, 11 January, which was last Friday. The FSAI informed the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the results last Monday, 14 January.

That is not the question I asked.

Once that information was received in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister was informed, and the Minister informed the Cabinet at the first opportunity, which was the next day, Tuesday.

Should the Minister not have been informed in November?

We are going into a level of detail now.

It is a basic question.

I am not-----

We will not have a conversation across the floor. Through the Chair, please.

The Minister has not answered the question.

Through the Chair-----

The time has expired.

It really is important because the food industry in the country and the thousands of jobs that depend on it are of such importance that we must do this in a measured, open, transparent way.

We know that.

Until I know the exact information the FSAI had at any given point and passed on at the appropriate point-----

We know what information the FSAI had in November and December.

Sorry, Deputy.

I want a straight answer to the question.

All of this - the sequence of events, the degree of knowledge and the quality of the result - can be put in clear questions to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He will lay it out it a completely open and transparent way.

Why can we not be given a straight answer?

Let us all work to ensure that the regulatory regime, the food safety standards and the oversight procedures we have in the country have worked. They identified the issue. Irish products were examined by Irish authorities and the results were made known by Irish authorities in order that the standards we demand are maintained.

He did not answer the question.