Vol. 542 No. 5
136 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the programme of work by the expert group on foot and mouth disease; the precautions which will remain in place to guard against an outbreak of the disease here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25108/01]
The expert group was established on 9 March 2001 to consider the extensive range of foot and mouth disease measures then in place and to advise on the appropriateness of adapting them to developments as they occurred. The group remains on call to provide advice to the Minister as required.
In my view, this group has performed a very valuable role since its establishment and it remains for the time being in existence and available to continue in its role for so long as FMD remains an issue.
Measures have been introduced in this jurisdiction since 21 February last to prevent the spread of the disease from Britain where to date there have been 2030 cases of the disease and more than 3.9 million animals have been slaughtered. There may be increasing grounds for a degree of optimism in the fact that the most recent confirmed case of FMD in Britain was on 30 September last. Given that we know that FMD can re-emerge in areas which have apparently been cleared of the disease, it is too early to conclude that we have seen the last case of FMD in Britain. We must therefore maintain both our sense of vigilance and the controls and precautionary measures which have played a critical role in our success to date in combating the FMD threat.
While the range of measures introduced since 21 February has been adjusted on an ongoing basis, a number continue to apply in the interests of safeguarding animal health. The main additional measures still applicable are the following: bans remain on imports of susceptible animals and certain products from Great Britain; imports from Northern Ireland of pigs and sheep are subject to full compliance with EU trading rules; controls continue to apply at ports and airports with mobile patrols at the border; with some exemptions, animals purchased must be retained by buyers for 30 days; farm to farm movements of cattle must be notified in advance to SWS; various events involving animals are permitted under specific protocols agreed between the Department and organisers; sheep shearing and AI are regulated.
Apart from these measures, I have continued to emphasise the need for retention of effective bio-security and disinfection measures at farms, marts and agricultural premises. I would take this opportunity to again urge all farmers and those in charge of agricultural related premises and events to maintain all the required precautions.
