Strange how the clamour for the taxpayers to bail out the meat industry fell quiet this week. Could it have anything to do with the damning report from the Food Safety Authority on the state of Irish abattoirs.

The authority found that many had singularly failed to ensure that banned parts of meat carcasses did not get into the food chain.

Little confidence was to be gained from its reassurance that the public was not at risk from new variant CJD, the human form of BSE, be cause the animals whose disposal was so sloppily executed were too young to be in the risk group. How can the public be reassured when those whose livelihoods depend on an industry already in the midst of its worst crisis of confidence can treat important food safety guidelines in such a cavalier manner?