§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what expenditure has been incurred by his Department in ensuring slaughterhouses in Northern Ireland meet European Community standards.
§ Mr. NeedhamDuring the five-year period ended 31 March 1990, capital grant assistance of £4,554,502 has been paid to the eight privately owned beef slaughter and processing companies in Northern Ireland which have facilities approved to Economic Community hygiene standards.
All these companies have abattoirs with integrated further processing facilities and the grant assistance paid was mainly towards expenditure on buildings and equipment for meat processing. Only two of the companies received grant payments totalling £252,300 towards abattoir capital expenditure. In no case was grant provided solely towards abattoir expenditure to achieve European Community standards.