Vol. 545 No. 3
15 Mr. J. Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the numbers of cattle removed from the market to date in 2001 through the purchase for destruction, special purchase and intervention schemes; if he is seeking a continuation of the special purchase scheme from January 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30055/01]
A total of 278,025 animals were slaughtered in Ireland under the EU purchase for destruction, PFD, scheme which ended on 30 June last. The EU special purchase, SPS, scheme replaced the PFD scheme and, to date, the carcases from 152,000 animals have been taken in by my Department under that scheme. As far as beef intervention is concerned, forequarter beef from about 54,000 animals has been taken in so far this year, while the full carcase was purchased in the case of a further 2,000 animals.
Expenditure on the PFD scheme to date has amounted to £198 million – purchasing costs of £160 million and expenditure on operating costs to date of £38 million – of which £97 million will be reimbursed by the EU under the terms of the co-financing arrangements governing that scheme. In the case of the SPS scheme, the total purchase cost of the carcases taken over by my Department amounts to about £61 million while expenditure to date on operating costs – takeover, rendering and storage – has been £5.1 million By virtue of the provisions of the EU regulation governing the SPS scheme, 70% of the purchase cost of the animals concerned is reimbursed by the EU. The prices at which carcases are purchased under the SPS scheme are fixed by the European Commission in Brussels on the advice of the management committee for beef and veal. Payments for product taken over under the scheme must be made by my Department within 65 days of the final date of takeover under each tender. The pricing and payment arrangements between participating slaughterhouses and their supplier farmers in respect of carcases presented for take-over under the scheme are, therefore, a commercial matter for those parties.
16 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if his Department has investigated the elements in assisting the spread of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30045/01]
My Department recognises the importance of investigating and identifying the elements that contribute to the incidence of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis.
In relation to TB, the main components in the spread of the disease are wildlife, animal to animal transmission, animal movements and poor farm management practices. The main factors in the spread of brucellosis are contiguity, animal movements and poor management practices including the management of manure.
The eradication programmes in place are supported by research programmes encompassing diagnostic, epidemiological and wildlife investigation projects. These projects involve the collaboration of staff in my Department, Teagasc, the universities and other agencies.
The veterinary, epidemiology and tuberculosis investigation unit based in the faculty of veterinary medicine, University College Dublin, provides direct support to the Department through the implementation of an agreed work plan that includes a wide range of epidemiological studies. The outcomes of many of these are published annually in a series of collected papers generally referred to as the Grey Book. The unit also has a significant input into other projects, particularly in regard to experimental design, geographic information systems support and subsequent statistical analysis.
The main strategic focus of the current research programme for bovine TB relates to the assessment of the role of badgers in the spread of the disease, the development of a vaccine for use in badgers and studies relating to disease diagnosis and genetic resistance in cattle.
