Vol. 538 No. 3
158 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the plans he has to remove the additional herd number which dealers maintain; if penalties received on one herd number can be transferred to the holding herd number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17817/01]
I assume the Deputy is referring to the registration of dealers and dealers' premises under SI No. 79 of 2001. The position is that dealers approved under this legislation will receive an approval number for dealing purposes which will replace, in certain instances, the trading number currently being used by them for that purpose. These persons may continue to hold a herd number in respect of their stable herd, provided the conditions for the grant of such a herd number are met.
159 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he is satisfied that the new regulations on movement restrictions, holding periods and dealers, will withstand a legal challenge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17818/01]
My Department put through an enormous volume of legislation, including a major amendment to the Disease of Animals Act, 1966, in a very short space of time during the FMD crisis, taking advice from the Office of the Attorney General where appropriate.
All legislation is open to constitutional challenge but enjoys the presumption of constitutionality unless the courts rule otherwise.
160 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will review the movement permit procedures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17819/01]
Based on the recommendations of the expert group, I announced a series of adjustments to the movement controls for cattle, including the permitting system, which were effective from Monday 18 June. The position is that the permit system for cattle is being retained only for farm to farm movements. It has been discontinued in respect of the movement of cattle to and from marts, for slaughter, within the holding and for export. In addition, the seven day rule restricting movements out of a herd after buying-in, and limitations on pick-ups and multiple destinations have been removed.
The permit procedures for farm to farm sales of cattle were of course introduced to minimise the risk of spreading the foot and mouth disease virus. The system has worked well and since its inception on 14 May last; over 46,000 permits have been issued in respect of 224,000 cattle.
In so far as sheep and pigs are concerned, permit arrangements that allow the movement of these species for slaughter and on animal welfare grounds have been in operation since early March. I consider that these arrangements have facilitated the orderly movement of sheep and pigs where necessary while maintaining essential levels of regulation on movement for disease control purposes.
161 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of staff dealing with movement permits in Bandon, County Cork; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some farmers receive no answer to phone calls made to the Bandon number; if he will ensure that additional staff are appointed to deal with the delay in processing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17820/01]
SWS Limited, Bandon, is operating the cattle movement permitting system on behalf of the Department. More than 35 staff are currently engaged in delivery of this service. I have monitored the situation closely and I am satisfied that applications for permits are being processed promptly and issued without delay. Since this permitting system was introduced on 14 May last, 46,000 permits have been issued in respect of 224,000 animals. Of course, the issue of a number of permits has been refused or suspended as a result of errors or invalid data on application forms.
In so far as contact by phone is concerned, the call centre at Bandon has dealt consistently with in excess of 2,500 calls on each day of operation of the permitting arrangements.
