The Labour spokeswoman on food safety, Ms Mary Upton, has called for more enhanced regulation of the beef-processing sector, particularly in light of the growing BSE problem.
She made her call as the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural development confirmed that the number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy had risen in 2001 to their highest annual total yet.
It confirmed that 246 cases were found here up to December 21st; while there has been no killing of cattle at meat plants since then, it is expected that the total for the year will reach 250 with further cases being detected on farms.
Ms Upton said the recent EPA report on poor standards in the meat-slaughtering sector was another alarming contribution to growing concern about BSE here.
While she accepted the improving situation in relation to no young animals being infected, there could be a historical legacy of a human health problem over the last decade.
Seven cases have been disclosed in the week ending December 21st were made up of five six-year-old animals from Louth, Tipperary, Laois, Kerry and Cavan, and two seven-year- old animals from farms in Cavan and Clare.
Of the seven cases disclosed, five have been identified by means of traditional passive surveillance on farms either by farmers or by vets.
The remaining cases have been identified by the active-surveillance programmes introduced in July 2000 and January last year, which has involved testing up to 700,000 animals.
Since January 2nd last year, all animals over 30 months of age going into the food chain are tested for the disease and 668,000 have already been tested at meat plants over the year.
Up to the end of November, 113 cases had been identified by the active surveillance programmes, the majority of the new cases being discovered in knackeries in diseased or injured animals not bound for the food chain.