I move:—
"That in the opinion of the Seanad the Minister for Lands and Agriculture should make an Order under the Diseases of Animals Acts prohibiting the importation of all fresh, chilled, frozen, pickled or cured meats from any country in which outbreaks of foot and mouth disease are known to exist and in which the policy of eradication of the disease by means of slaughter is not adopted."
When the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease which occurred in Wexford was confirmed it created consternation amongst the cattle trade, the farmers, and, I might say, the whole community. Every thinking man can visualise the disastrous effect it would have on the country if it spread. I wish to congratulate the Minister for Lands and Agriculture and his staff on the very able manner in which they handled the outbreak; on the wise precautions they took, and on the success of their efforts to stamp out the disease. On behalf of the cattle trade, I want to say that we feel very grateful to the British Ministry for opening the ports so quickly. Thousands of tons of freshly-cured meat are imported into the Saorstát from practically every country in the world. According to the statistics, the average quantity yearly is about 450,000 tons. Most of the chilled and frozen beef comes from the Argentine, but we get pork and pigs' heads from all parts of Europe, from the United States, Canada, Argentine, Denmark, Poland, the Ukraine, Latvia, Sweden, Brazil, Russia and China. Most of these countries are never free from foot-and-mouth disease, and I cannot see why we should allow meat to come into the Free State from them when we have here available plenty of the best meat in the world. The experts agree that foot-and-mouth disease is transmitted through the carcases of these infected animals, it can be transmitted through the covering which comes on meat imported from those countries, and it is now admitted that the virus of foot-and-mouth disease will stay alive in the marrow of the bones of infected animals for a considerable time. It is with a view to these considerations that I move this motion. I do not know if the Seanad desires to discuss it from the point of view of protection or free trade but I want to have it discussed from the point of view of the importance of preserving a clean bill of health for our live stock, and on those grounds I ask support for the motion.