I call Deputy Joe Higgins to be followed by Deputies Belton, Howlin, Deenihan, Healy and Farrelly.
Foot and Mouth Disease: Statements (Resumed).
(Dublin West): Does the Minister believe the current crisis should also be an opportunity for a discussion on agricultural practices and methods of trade and how they can contribute to the huge and rapid increase of animal disease, particularly the huge intensification of farming, despite Deputy Dukes and the Minister of State, Deputy Davern, snorting in derision when these points are being made? Deputy Noonan, however, began to reflect some of the points this morning. Is it not the case that when hundreds of sows are chained together, thousands of chickens are kept together and animals are fed an unnatural diet, this contributes to disease and that unrestricted travel also contributes to its increase? For example, there is the crazy situation of bringing lambs across the Irish Sea to be killed. Should that situation not be rationalised?
On 21 February the Minister announced a ban on many animals but why was it six days later before he banned horses coming in? Was he lobbied by the stud owners? How many horses arrived here in that time? From where did they come? Did any come from quarantined areas in Britain? Has there been a follow up to ensure there is no risk to animals here?
The Athleague incident showed that the meat processors cannot be trusted to put the welfare of the farming community and tens of thousands of agri-business workers before their profits. Regulatory authorities have also failed. Does the Mini ster agree that close supervision is now needed and that all areas should begin to elect democratically elected committees of farmers and workers to oversee the supervision of animals and the movement of animals?
If a farmer fails to fill out a form when availing of any premia scheme, that farmer is immediately banned for two years by the Minister's officials who are very attentive when dealing with the farmers. The Army and the Garda are the responsibility of the Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Defence, although the Taoiseach has overall responsibility. However, he has dealt with this issue in the same way as he does every other one, that is, if he leaves it alone, it will go away. What progress has the Minister made in finding out about the unregulated importation of animals into this country? What progress has the Minister and his Department made in investigating that crime which has been going on long before the ban, as the Minister well knows?
On the movement of horses, does the Minister agree that the confusion created on morning radio by a senior official in his Department has caused annoyance among horse owners? I have received telephone calls from my constituency on this matter. What steps will he put in place to make very clear the potential for horses carrying this disease?
Is the regulatory system already in place strong enough? Is there a legislative basis for it and is the Government considering any further legislative measures next week to strengthen the hand of the Minister and his Department in this battle? On the co-ordination of Garda and Army personnel, is there a single line of co-ordinated command or is each divisional Garda commander responsible for his own section of the Border? Is that command co-ordinated with the Army?
Will the Minister confirm that the two farms in Castleisland, County Kerry, that were sealed off yesterday have now been cleared of any infection? Will he confirm that the results of the tests carried out on the animal that left one of the farms two weeks ago have now returned and have proved clear? Will the Minister ensure sufficient disinfectant is made available in all parts of the country because yesterday when there was a scare in County Kerry, farmers in many parts of the county could not buy disinfectant?
Since the spread of foot and mouth disease is such an appalling prospect and despite the initiative there appears to be a lack of public awareness, does the Minister agree that a simple "do and don't" leaflet should be dropped into every household in the country, both urban and rural, over the weekend? He could use youth organisations like the scouts and girl guides to do that as I am sure they would only be too glad to do it. Will the Minister specifically request golf clubs, particularly clubs which would have overseas visitors like Mount Juliet, the K Club and Ballybunion, to close? Does the Minister agree that all 299 Border crossing points should be manned and not just the 141 referred to by the Taoiseach this morning?
I had a telephone call about a half an hour ago in relation to potato merchants buying seed potatoes in England and driving through the country to ports. Will the Minister ban that type of importation until this foot and mouth disease scare is over? These people are going on to Irish farms when they arrive here. I have been asked by potato growers to raise that with the Minister.
In relation to Athleague, has the Minister checked with Department officials if they checked the lambs before slaughter? If they did, were they not vigilant enough to notice that tags had been removed from the ears of these lambs because, as the Minister knows, no Irish lambs have tags? If they did, what action has the Minister taken to suspend the veterinary inspectors who did not do their job in protecting the beef and meat industry?
I will give the Minister five minutes between 1.40 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. I will call the remaining speakers – Deputies Ellis, Perry, Brendan Smith, Johnny Brady and Crawford – if there is time.
Will the Minister tell us if it will now be the policy of the Department to take similar action to the action taken in Dunleer last night on any suspect farm in the country through which sheep from Northern Ireland may have passed in the past two to three weeks? Will he tell us whether it will be departmental policy to run television advertisements over the coming weekend to highlight for people not directly involved, the sort of problems this country will face as well as the horrors this has caused in the UK?
Get the Taoiseach to address the country.
Is the Minister aware that the business community will face an economic meltdown if foot and mouth disease is found in this State? In light of this, will the Minister initiate a public information campaign to be launched immediately? A public information film should be broadcast daily to remind citizens of the potential economic and social impact of foot and mouth disease and the need to keep this disease at bay. In addition, every household should receive information on foot and mouth disease and its impact. There is too much emphasis on websites and so on and a public information film should be broadcast daily on television highlighting the facts. Was there a history of aggression to authority at the Athleague factory in Roscommon before now?
Has milk from Northern Ireland being packaged and sold in the Republic ceased? As regards compounders bringing in cattle feedstuffs into the Republic, how safe is that or should it cease? Another serious problem we have in County Meath, which my colleague from County Louth, Deputy Kirk, raised, is wild deer which trespass over farms. They can travel anything up to ten miles per day. What action is being taken to take these deer out? I compliment the Minister, the Minister of State and their officials for working flat out at this time.
In view of the need to augment personnel resources at check-points along the 253 mile Border, will the Minister consider requesting the personnel sections in all Departments, State bodies, the Army and the Garda to contact recently retired people who may be in a position to return to work to assist in this huge logistical national effort in order that there would be a stronger presence at all Border crossings? This measure should be allied to the further transfer of Garda and Army personnel to the Border region announced by the Taoiseach. Additional personnel could assist in the Department's huge administrative and information provision workload.
Will the Minister confirm whether there are any suspect cases in the Border region, specifically Monaghan? What is the situation on general exports and what efforts are being made in this area? We have heard about France's action but every effort must be made to keep other export points open.
I would be very amused by the categorisation of national roads as "approved" and "unapproved" if the situation were not so serious. Are all roads not the same? A truck can travel on any road. It was stated on the Government side that all roads were manned with the exception of unapproved roads.
Although they may have got off to a slow start, I compliment the Minister, the Minister of State and departmental staff for their trojan efforts; they are doing a tremendous job. Is the Department systematically checking all sheep flocks in the country to ascertain the movement of sheep over the past three or four weeks? Given the proximity of the Cooley peninsula and its significant sheep population, does the Department intend to systematically check each flock there and speak to each flock owner?
Deputies Joe Higgins and Howlin referred to horses. The importation of and traffic in horses was banned not because horses can be infected or transfer infectivity but because they travel with grooms, handlers, etc., in trucks in which there is bedding. Deputy Higgins also correctly observed that the processing of animals occurs on a large scale. This is regrettable and is highlighted by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Deputy Belton referred to the two year penalty which applies under some EU schemes and stated that the full rigours of the law should apply to any breaches of the regulations. I assure the Deputy that anybody who flouts these regulations will be severely dealt with.
On legislative measures, I have asked the Attorney General, in the event of the situation deteriorating, to prepare emergency legislation and he is doing so. On co-ordination, Deputy Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, is co-ordinating efforts in this area.
Deputy Deenihan asked about the Kerry farms which gave rise to a great deal of concern in the area. An animal which came to a factory in Nenagh was put under surveillance as it was drooling at the mouth and exhibiting some suspect symptoms. However, the tests, which proved negative for the disease, showed the animal was suffering from pneumonia. Thankfully, that scare has subsided.
Deputy Healy raised a number of issues which are being followed up with the full resources of State and voluntary bodies. Again, I wish to express my appreciation for the co-operation we have received from everyone concerned.
Deputy Farrelly raised the question of potato imports which are allowed into the country. The potatoes must be cleaned and the trucks in which they are imported are sanitised and disinfected at disinfection bays.
On ante and post-mortem inspections, there is a significant difference in the manner in which different animals are treated upon entry into Irish processing plants. Livestock and cattle are all individually checked as they have passports and tags and go through a crush. Ante-mortem inspections are also carried out on pigs. If any animal shows signs of lethargy, it is taken aside and checked. Similarly, sheep are not individually checked. I regret that we do not have a sheep tagging system and that farming organisations have resisted individual tagging. This crisis has highlighted the need for that. Post-mortem examinations are carried out for public health and food safety purposes.
Deputy Ellis referred to suspect farms. If people contact the Department about an animal which displays unusual signs, restrictions are put in place. There are a number of such cases at any particular time.
Deputy Stanton referred to public information which we are seeking to improve in every possible way as we were accused of being too technical and turgid and of only making information available on websites, etc. Deputy Quinn pointed to the need for telephone numbers to be advertised.
Deputy Brendan Smith spoke about State agency personnel. All such personnel have co-operated fully in this effort. The Government has asked personnel officers to make staff available to hand out leaflets, etc.
Deputy Smith read his script well.
Order, please.
Deputy Johnny Brady asked about the importation of milk. Deputy Crawford will be very familiar with this issue. A lot of milk is transported to Abbot Laboratories and other processing plants in Monaghan. Once milk is double pasteurised or treated at ultra high temperatures, it is acceptable.
Deputy Crawford asked whether any suspect cases have been identified in Monaghan. No clinical signs of the disease have been identified in Monaghan or any other part of the country to date.
Deputy Kirk also referred to sheep. As I stated, pigs and sheep are treated differently to cattle. Deputy Penrose spoke about the need to register farms. This crisis has highlighted the need for far greater traceability and registration.
The Dáil adjourned at 1.50 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 6 March 2001.