Veterinary certification has been withdrawn from a meat plant in the State following complaints from Northern Ireland that bovine spinal cord was found in beef exported there, the Dail was told.

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, said the certification was withdrawn even though the Northern Ireland side "was unable to say which load contained the suspect bovine quarter; nor were they able to provide the carcass number or the piece of spinal cord or evidence that the quarter originated from the premises in the Republic"

The incident arose when two consignments of bovine quarters were shipped to a premises in Larne earlier this month.

Mr O Cuiv said the certification had been withdrawn because the exporting premises was involved in a previous similar incident.

The Minister also said he could not accept claims in a British study that the risk of eating BSE-contaminated beef was considerably higher in Ireland than in the UK. He criticised reports that the level of BSE in the Irish herd was far greater than the incidence reported.

Mr O Cuiv told Ms Frances Fitzgerald (FG, Dublin South East), who raised the issue, that the study carried out for the UK Food Standards Agency was based on "assumptions of the incidence for which there is no basis". The British agency allegedly claimed that 22,000 cattle in Ireland were infected between 1985 and 1996. He stressed that the nature of the BSE situation in both countries could not be compared "in any sense".

Ms Fitzgerald expressed concern about a report in a British Sunday newspaper which made the claims.