Discussions on the possible transfer of the local authority veterinary service to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) may be finalised by the end of this year.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue made the comments in response to a recent parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully.
The Cavan-Monaghan representative asked if the department would be taking over responsibility for the inspection of small abattoirs from the local authorities who currently undertake this on behalf of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
Deputy Tully also sought a timeframe within which this transfer would take place.
Local authority veterinary service
Currently, around 30 local authority veterinary inspectors carry out food safety duties at some 500 food businesses across the country.
These are mainly smaller slaughter plants, smaller meat products plants, as well as some smaller poultry and other enterprises.
There are around 60 department of agriculture veterinary inspectors, supported by a number of technical staff, who carry out food safety duties in all larger slaughter plants and other larger meat plants, processing plants and cold stores.
Discussions have been taking place in recent months in relation to future arrangements regarding the supervision of the smaller premises currently supervised by the local authority veterinary service.
DAFM, the Department of Health, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), the FSAI, the County and City Management Association, and the Local Government Management Agency are involved in the talks.
Last year, a steering group and a working group, including representative from these organisations, was established to explore all aspects of the potential transfer.
“The discussions, which are ongoing, have been constructive and positive.
“However, some issues remain to be resolved, so it is not possible to give any definitive timeframe, but the working group and steering group are working towards bringing some finality to the process by quarter four of 2024 if possible,” Minister McConalogue said.
In 2023, the DHLGH established an interdepartmental group to bring more joined up approaches with other departments to local government.
“These discussions exploring the possible synergies associated with my department taking on the supervision of these smaller abattoirs and food premises would align well with the objectives of this interdepartmental group,” Minister McConalogue added.