Equine passports and food chain safety
Deputy Collins sought assurances about equine passports and whether horses declared fit for consumption may have received prohibited substances. The Taoiseach could not guarantee that but said the relevant authorities would be better placed to answer.
Page 112 of the programme for Government addresses the agrifood sector. In the light of the recent revelations published by The Irish Field exposing the practice whereby the Irish Horse Board changed the status of equine passports to have equines excluded from the food chain declared fit for consumption simply by placing a label over the stamp "Not fit for human consumption", can the Taoiseach guarantee that the equines in question have not received prohibited substances since their registration in order that the food chain will be protected?
