THE Minister for Agriculture has said he is "absolutely convinced" that the increased number of BSE animals year is directly related to fed on bonemeal since it was banned in 1990.
Mr Yates pledged yesterday that comprehensive controls to trace the farm of origin of all live animals and beef for export would be in place by Christmas. And he criticised those who said that the Russian beef contract should have been settled at "political level" and not at veterinary level.
The Minister was in Paris at SIAL, the second largest food and drinks exhibition in the world, where he also had bilateral talks and dinner with the French Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr Philippe Vasseur.
Mr Yates told reporters it had become dear from tests carried out by veterinary inspectors that the increased level of cases was linked to banned bonemeal being fed to cattle. He had no "quantitative information" and there was "no basis to say it was widespread". There have been 40 cases of BSE so far this year, a tiny proportion of the Irish herd of seven million animals.
He said he believed the scale of the bonemeal consumption was "sufficiently minimal" not to have an effect on the beef market. He would be adopting a "task force approach" to the BSE crisis with veterinary officers, administrative and agricultural officers visiting bonemeal plants.
A spokesman said later there would be no let up by the Department of Agriculture in its fight against those using "angel dust" and other illegal drugs on animals.
On Saturday Mr Yates said the special investigation team which deals with illegal growth promoters is being asked to help police the strict new regulations on meat and bonemeal. The team would be checking to ensure that no meat or bonemeal could be used in bovine feed.
Asked yesterday if this meant the team would be overstretched and unable to fully investigate the angel dust abusers, the spokesman said this was not the case.
"The hunt for those who use illegal drugs will be as concentrated as ever. There will be no let up. However, there is evidence to suggest that the levels of abuse are virtually minimal now," he said.
"What the Minister has done is to ask the special team to become involved in ensuring that the regulations banning the use of meat and bonemeal are fully complied with," he said.
Mr Yates said that farmers main concern was the price of beef. He would be happy to be judged in a few months on his decision, and he believed there would be no price differential between the rest of the State and the three counties excluded from the Russian trade.
Mr Yates also denied a Sunday newspaper report that the Russian market had been closed to Ireland for 24 hours two months ago. He said that, if it had closed, it would have sent prices falling and "tremors" into other markets.
He promised to have full traceability in place by Christmas whereby every animal could be traced by computer to its farm of origin. He denied reports that it would cost £14 million, and said the cost would be less than £10 million because the computer system was in place. Industry sources said the Department was likely to employ the system used in Northern Ireland, believed to be the best in Europe.
The chairman of Bord Bia, Mr Philip Lynch, said the reaction to the exclusion of three counties in the Russian contract had been blown out of all proportion. The amount of beef originating in the three counties was "infinitesimal", he said, adding that Cork and Tipperary were mainly dairy counties. "It was a choice that Ireland had to make to secure the contract. The buyer is always right."