An urgent investigation into the case of BSE in a cow born since full controls were put in place was proceeding last night amid growing criticism of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
The cow was born in February 1997, the year after the Department said its feeding controls were put in place. This should have ensured the animal would not have been fed contaminated meat- and-bone meal.
The cow, an Aberdeen Angus, had been born on a farm in Co Roscommon and moved to a herd in Co Sligo. When she died she was taken to a knackery where Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy was discovered in the active surveillance tests carried out for the last two years.
Last night, Dr Mary Upton, Labour Party spokesman on Food Safety and Consumer Affairs, said the discovery of BSE in a cow born after the ban on feeding meat-and-bone meal was an extremely serious development.
"I have lost confidence in the Department of Agriculture because it led the way in reassuring consumers that all beef from post-1996 animals was completely safe. That now looks not to have been the case," she said.
She called on the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, to make a full statement on the matter and said again that responsibility for food should be removed from the Department.
The Fine Gael spokesman for Agriculture, Mr Alan Dukes, said the report was seriously disturbing and meant there had either been evasion of feed controls or there was maternal transmission of the disease in cattle.
"Either way, I want to see a full investigation carried out into this case of the disease and I want full disclosure from the Minister on this one."
The Green Party demanded that a new independent food safety department be set up as the case had serious implications for current regulations.
The Department's expert on BSE, Ms Hazel Sheridan, said the discovery of the case was "not unexpected" and was unlikely to be the last because research in the UK had shown contaminated food continued to be fed there for at least a year after the ban.
She said an extensive investigation into the animal's background was being conducted and it may or may not be significant that the cow's mother had died shortly after the animal was born in February 1997.
What was important, she said, was that the animals being detected with the disease here were older.
In 2000, 40 per cent of cases were less than six years old. In 2001, this fell to 16 per cent and this year it was only 1per cent, indicating the success of the feed ban.
Dr Patrick Wall of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said the case of BSE could indicate a breach of the cattle feed regulations. However, the controls to protect human consumers were at their strongest and there was no need for consumers to feel at risk.
The six cases of BSE reported this week brought the number of cases so far this year to 139.