Vol. 561 No. 6
80 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has a report available on the situation regarding animal disease in the Six Counties in view of the concerns of people involved in farming there and difficulties which elected representatives are experiencing securing accurate information. [5066/03]
There is a long history of co-operation between the administrations north and south on animal health issues. The administrations have traditionally shared information at local and national levels on disease control and surveillance issues and have pooled resources to combat illegal movements of animals and animal products. The foot and mouth emergency of 2001 is a testament to the extent of co-operation and consultation that exists at official, ministerial and political levels. The establishment of the North-South Ministerial Council offered an opportunity to build on existing co-operation arrangements and provided a framework for the development of an all-island animal health policy.
The main objectives of the council are to foster co-operation and to devise a common, unified animal health strategy for the island as a whole. This involves the convergence of animal health policies and the development of joint strategies for dealing with animal diseases. The ultimate objectives are to establish a common import regime and equivalent internal arrangements with a view to achieving free movement of animals and animal products within the island.
At its September 2002 meeting, the council endorsed a policy document outlining the scope and timetable for convergence of animal health policies and instructed officials to finalise discussions with the British authorities prior to final agreement on a strategy. A total of nine policy working groups have been established at official level under north south arrangements to take forward the various initiatives. The remit of these groups includes TB and Brucellosis, TSEs – BSE and scrapie -, veterinary medicines, other zoonoses and animal diseases, disease surveillance, animal welfare, import and export of live animals and animal products, animal identification, traceability and cross-border aspects of fraud. These groups continue to report progress in exchange of information and in implementation of initiatives aimed at policy convergence and the development of a common unified strategy for the island as a whole.
