The Government's Bill to provide a comprehensive legislative basis for the Food Safety Authority is seriously flawed and does not give consumers a real say, Labour's Health spokeswoman claimed in the Dail.
Ms Roisin Shortall demanded greater consumer input into the authority and said the Bill "fails to enshrine in legislation the consumer-focused philosophy that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland needs to make a real difference to food safety standards in this country".
Yesterday was the second day of debate on the Bill, which had been introduced in the Dail on Wednesday by the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen. He said the primary purpose of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Bill is the protection of consumers. The authority has operated under interim legislation since January.
Mr Cowen said the Government would not be found wanting in relation to consumer concerns about food safety. "The protection of public health is an absolute priority for me, as it is for all of my colleagues in Government. Any threat to the safety of the food we eat, whether it be real or potential, will be responded to robustly and with transparency."
The Government believed "that the interests of consumers are better served by the creation of an authority which will be directly accountable for all food control functions."
Ms Shortall said that food accounted for 23 per cent of household expenditure in Ireland and was the largest item in the household budget. "Consumers in Ireland spend £4 billion each year on food, or on average in excess of £3,500 each year per household."
The Labour TD for Dublin North-West said it was a "serious oversight" to fail to give statutory recognition to the role of the consumer in the authority and and this needed to be changed.
Democratic Left's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, expressed concern that the Minister was not explicit about funding the authority. "Its independence relies on the security of its financial base".
The Bill and the authority itself would be judged ultimately on its capability to live up to its new role of direct responsibility. "The staffing requirements, the resources requirements are considerable but we have not heard a word about resources or budgets."
The Department of Health had not traditionally dealt with food safety "and the authority is in danger of being seen as the poor relation within the Department", Ms McManus said, adding that she had "absolute confidence in the authority itself to manage its affairs well".
Fine Gael's agriculture spokesman, Mr Paul Connaughton, hoped the funding would be made available for the authority. He called for "the vested interests on all sides" to be "kept outside the door". Mr Connaughton added that he would be happy when the certification of Irish food products from the Food Safety Authority would be considered internationally to be the best in the world.