Ireland catches more cases of BSE than other countries because of our higher testing standards, the Agriculture Minister has said.
Charlie McConalogue was speaking after the discovery of a case of Atypical BSE in Ireland saw exports to China halted.
The Chinese market only reopened to Irish farmers in January of this year after another BSE case was detected back in 2020.
The protocol with China requires exports to be suspended pending submission and assessment of an epidemiological report.
Minister McConalogue told The Pat Kenny Show there was never any risk from the infected cow.
"This animal wasn't destined for China at all," he said.
"It actually was caught and is part of our very strict testing procedures here in Ireland, which actually are the strictest of anywhere in the world.
"The EU and Ireland has the very highest of standards and that's really important, and something we take very seriously."
'We will catch all of them'
Minister McConalogue said cases like this happen every so often.
"Atypical [BSE] is something that can happen sporadically in an animal, particularly an older animal," he said.
"It happens every so often, so it is something that shows up, and we had a similar incident for example three years ago in 2020.
"Every few years you will have one, it's sporadic... and that's why it's important we have testing systems in place to make sure any instance such as that is captured.
"We will catch it more because our systems are so strict here, and our testing is so meticulous.
"We will catch all of them in a way that maybe other countries that might be exporting beef around other parts of the world wouldn't.
"It's rightly so, because we are a nation that exports our food so we take the safety and oversight of those food standards massively importantly."
'As promptly as possible'
Minister McConalogue said the only market affected will be China.
"It's disappointing from the point of view of the Chinese market because we've put massive work in to actually getting it back up and running since we got access again at the start of this past year," he said.
"Companies have done great work there, and I was over there on a mission earlier this year myself and indeed the Tánaiste is there on wider issues at the moment now too."
Minister McConalogue said he hopes the market will re-open soon.
"Obviously it is quite disruptive and disappointing for the companies that are putting so much work in; it's also disappointing for our Chinese customers who value that supply," he said.
"We're now working to engage with the Chinese Government because we've gone through this process before; we'll be working to try and ensure that it happens as promptly as possible this time around," he added.
The Irish Farmers' Association has said the latest suspension is disappointing.
