asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he a aware that less than 5 per cent. of the milk supply of Dublin comes into the city from tuberculin-tested herds, and whether he recognises the relationship between this fact and the prevalence of tuberculosis in Dublin; whether he is further aware that only 60 per cent. of the milk supplied in Dublin is pasteurised; and whether he is in a position to announce the steps which will be taken by his Department to secure for the citizens a 100 per cent. clean, germ-free supply of milk.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Milk Supply.
The quantity of highest grade milk delivered in Dublin is limited and would represent about 5 per cent. of the daily milk consumption in the city. There is no scientific authority for concluding that the incidence of all forms of tuberculosis in Dublin is associated with the limited quantity of milk available for human consumption from tuberculin-tested herds. The general provisions of the Milk and Dairies Act and Regulations are intended to secure a pure and wholesome milk supply for the community, and under the Act the steps necessary to compel the pasteurisation of all milk sold for human consumption in the city rest with the Corporation of Dublin in the first place. At present the proportion of the milk supply to the city which is pasteurised is substantially as stated by the Deputy.
Am I to take it that the Department consider that they have no responsibility in the matter of securing a clean milk supply for the City of Dublin unless the initial steps are taken by the local sanitary authority? That clearly is the inference to be drawn from the Parliamentary Secretary's reply. Is that the position?
The position is that, if the Dublin Corporation desire to have all the milk sold for human consumption in the City of Dublin pasteurised, they must seek a Ministerial Order to that end.
Am I to take it that the Parliamentary Secretary has admitted that his Department will not take the initiative in the matter of providing a clean milk supply for the City of Dublin?
The Deputy is to take it that representations are to be made to the Dublin Corporation in the first instance.
What steps are being taken by the local sanitary authority in this case to ensure that the 35 per cent. of the milk consumed in Dublin which does not come from tuberculin-tested herds and is not pasteurised is examined for the purpose of finding out whether it conforms with the Milk and Dairies Bacteriological Examination Regulations, 1936, which prescribe that milk shall not contain more than 500,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre?
That is a separate question.
It is definitely related to the subject matter of my question.