asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if his attention has been drawn to a brain disease affecting rams purchased by his Department.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ram Disease.
25.
There are a number of diseases which give rise to nervous symptoms in sheep and which are often loosely described as "brain diseases".
One such disease known as "louping ill" is caused by a virus carried by ticks which are picked up by sheep grazing on old pastures. There was only one case of this in rams allocated by my Department last year.
Has the Minister had reports of disease anywhere in the country which disease is suspected to come from rams purchased by officers of his Department?
The Deputy raised a question purely about brain disease; he is widening the scope of the question. I do not know exactly what he is talking about because there have been reports of other rams with other diseases that have not been true. That is all I could say to the Deputy.
What I am asking the Minister is this: did we have any reports of any diseases, scab or brain——
That is not in the question.
If the Minister wants to allay the fears of people who approach me he may do so. If he wants to be technical and kick to touch, then that is his privilege, but I am worried about my constituents who think that an infection from rams purchased by officers of his Department has affected their flocks.
The question concerned brain disease and I answered that. I hope that will allay the Deputy's anxiety about brain disease. There has been a question about scab in another area a long way from the Deputy's constituency and, as far as we are concerned, it is not true.
In Mayo.
These rams were purchased in Blessington and were examined by three senior officers, one of them an expert on sheep scab. They certainly could have got sheep scab in the area into which they were sent but they did not have it at the time they were purchased.
I thought I would have to put down a separate question on that but the Minister himself has raised it. We have it in Galway and I think it has been or will be proved conclusively that it was as a result of the purchase of Department rams. There is no doubt about that. We have had two outbreaks of it.
The Deputy should not make that positive statement without——
I shall not make a positive statement but——
Statements are not in order at Question Time. Question No. 26.
We carried out the regulations in County Galway and yet this outbreak has started in an area where these lambs were bought.
I want to dissuade the Deputy from making statements.
Have the Minister's officers instructed farmers to carry out dipping in my constituency and other constituencies recently and, if so, for what reason?
For scab, and that was all over the country. That was always there.
The places that the Cheviot lambs went into?
No. It was all over— national.
But unusual. Is the Minister talking about normal dipping?
It is only unusual in that formerly two dippings were done and now there is only one.
Is this an extra one?
Not that I am aware.
Question No. 26 has been called.
Did the Minister not tell me that he was satisfied that the second dipping did something for the control of scab?
It was found that only a dipping during the winter months was effective against scab. That was why the summer dipping was dropped.
This question relates to brain disease. Next question please.