The Tánaiste says people have a right to know what they are eating.

The comments from Eamon Gilmore come after horse meat was found in a number of frozen burger products sold here.

He has told the Dáil a full investigation is underway and that the government only became aware of the test results on Monday before they were made public yesterday.

The Tánaiste says affordability of food should not be an issue over its contents.

"People should know - and have a right to know - what they are eating and what the content of, particularly processed food, is" he said.

"And...there should be no differentiation in that knowledge as between people who purchase expensive cuts of meat and those who purchase less expensive processed meat" he added.

IFA calls for improvment in checks

Meanwhile the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) is calling on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Department of Agriculture to put greater emphasis on checking the ingredients of food.

President of the IFA John Bryan says there is full traceability of meat on Irish farms.

But he believes the same checks should be applied right the way up the food chain.