Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 13 Dec 1995

Vol. 145 No. 14

Adjournment Matters. - Livestock Quarantine.

Mr. Kelleher

The most perfect science is probably the science of hindsight. That was brought home to me after attending a recent meeting in Fir Grove Hotel in Mitchelstown where up to 600 farmers, mainly pig farmers, met to voice concern and fear that their livelihoods could be put in jeopardy by the importation of wild boar. That in itself is a serious issue, but we must look at the broader perspective. I understand that we had to change the quarantine rules to comply with EU regulations. However, having spoken to many farmers and others involved in our livestock and livestock processing industry and having spoken to people who are trying to market our produce abroad, it is clear that the present situation is not good enough to protect this country's disease free status. That applies to all areas of livestock production, be it pig production, poultry, cattle, beef and so forth. Something must be done to ensure that we can guarantee to our markets that we have disease free status.

Last week the importation of the wild boar took place and they were brought to Mitchelstown. They complied with the criteria laid down in the voluntary code of practice of the pig producers council. However, it still jeopardises a huge industry in the Mitchelstown area. At the meeting I was informed by both trade union officials and those involved in pig production that up to 1,500 jobs in the immediate Mitchelstown area could be put in jeopardy if by any chance the importation of the wild boar resulted in exotic diseases also being brought to Ireland. That in itself is serious and suggests that a change in the current regulations should be made immediately.

In the cattle sector, since quarantine regulations were removed we have seen two new diseases appear in our national herd, mycoplasma bovis and Johnes disease. These diseases are alien to this country and some veterinary practitioners suggest that mycoplasma bovis could have disastrous effects on our national herd. Our one advantage in this regard is the fact that we are an island nation and have natural barriers to the spread of disease. We are in the EU and we would like to adhere to the regulations, but surely one of the objectives of the EU is the advancement of peripheral areas. Why must we sacrifice one of the few advantages we have as a result of being an island, which is our disease free status, to comply with EU regulations? It is not good enough that Ireland must jeopardise this status in order to receive funding or to have access to markets in the EU. This issue deserves more than a motion on the Adjournment. It has major implications for our food processing industry.

Some farmers would argue that it is difficult to import animals into this country, but those farmers are few in number. The majority of livestock leaves this country; it is our largest single industry, larger than tourism or all our pharmaceutical industries. That shows the importance of this issue. I ask the Minister to consult with his officials and see if it is possible to seek a derogation through which our disease free status could be protected. The only way it can be protected is by full quarantine, which means that animals are quarantined not only in the country of origin but also when they arrive in this country. They should be quarantined off the mainland in appropriate quarantine centres.

The code of practice that has been adopted by the pig industry should also be brought into legislative effect immediately. We still would have to go to the EU to try to change the present regulations pertaining to quarantine. Every person in the veterinary and animal health profession would say that quarantining an animal in the country of origin and transporting it through many countries and ports before bringing it to Ireland is not quarantine in itself. It is like wearing a condom on one's head to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. That point was forcefully made in the Fir Grove Hotel in Mitchelstown. The meeting was attended by 600 people who are directly affected and who thought the issue important enough to attend a meeting and seek that this situation is changed immediately.

We have seen the development of many new agricultural enterprises, such as ostrich rearing, deer farming and other diverse activities. Our main agricultural products are cattle, milk, beef, sheep, poultry and pigs. All this is being put in jeopardy. We should enact legislation, similar to the voluntary code of practice the pig industry has adopted, to ensure it is not put in jeopardy. We should immediately broaden this to ensure all animals adhere to the regulations. In the meantime the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, the Minister of State and the Government should ask the EU to change the regulations to which we must at present adhere.

We are at a distinct disadvantage in transporting our products to Britain and Europe. We should take steps to guarantee consumers of our livestock products that we are a disease free country. The Americans and Japanese are large consumers of pigmeat produced in Ireland. If the pig herd were to contract any of the diseases which would result in Japan and America banning imports of pigmeat, this would have catastrophic effects on our pigmeat industry. Some 12,000 people are directly associated with this industry through producing, processing, exporting or marketing this meat. We must also consider the sheep and dairy sectors.

None of us would like to play politics with an issue as serious as this. Two years ago we discussed this matter. Hindsight is the perfect science and we are now in a position to point out examples. It is up to the Minister and the Government to ask the EU to allow us protect our disease free status to ensure that our agriculture is not jeopardised.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Deenihan)

I thank Senator Kelleher for raising this matter, which has aroused considerable interest in the media in recent weeks. All countries maintain measures to ensure food is safe for consumers and to prevent the spread of pests or diseases among animals and plants. These measures by their very nature may result in restrictions on trade. All Governments accept that some trade restrictions are necessary and appropriate in order to ensure food safety and animal and plant health protection.

The EU has dealt with this problem in a very definitive way, with the creation of an internal market. The objective of the Treaty of Rome is to create a single market with no frontiers across the entire EU, with free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

With regard to veterinary issues, one of the justifications for obstacles to trade has been the need for protection against diseases carried by animals and their products. These obstacles usually took the form of an obligation for animals and products to be accompanied by certificates to prove conformity with the rules of the country of destination. In addition systematic border checks were frequently imposed. One of the objectives of the internal market is to abolish such obstacles.

The introduction of the internal market had two effects of note in the animal health area: the suppression of frontier checks on 1 January, 1993 and the acceleration of the process of harmonisation, a process which in the cattle and pig sector had been largely completed some years previously.

There are two significant dates relating to changes in animal importation requirements — 6 August 1992 and 1 January 1993. The first is important because on that date Ireland's foot and mouth disease quarantine requirements for animals being imported from certain other member states came to an end. Or, to put it more positively, Ireland was obliged to end quarantine on that date as all EU member states had achieved foot and mouth disease free status, that is, two years freedom from the disease and a prohibition on the use of vaccine of at least on year's duration. For this reason cattle, pigs and sheep being imported into Ireland from EU countries need no longer be placed in the official quarantine on Spike Island.

Of course there had been no quarantine for such animals coming from the UK and Denmark for some time past. It goes without saying that once quarantine, an expensive and time consuming task, was ended, imports were bound to increase, which they did quite dramatically, rising from 260 cattle imported in the two years prior to the cessation of the quarantine requirements to 35,000 cattle in the three years since. I reassure the House and Senator Kelleher that in spite of the concerns that have been expressed, such imports have not been accompanied by any serious disease problems.

On 1 January 1993 the internal market was completed and frontier controls were abolished between member states. Such controls were replaced by a system of checks at origin and destination. Animals could move freely provided they were accompanied by an official EU health certificate issued by the competent authority of the member state of origin. In addition, there was provision for advance notification to the country of destination of such movements via the Animo system, which is a computerised system whereby the member state of origin notifies the member state of destination of movements of animals and animal products. This Animo system is now operating in each of the member states and the district veterinary offices of my Department receive and send daily details of impending imports and exports of live animals to their counterparts in other member states.

Under the trading directives 64/432/ EEC, which deals with cattle and pigs, and 91/68/EEC, which deals with sheep and goats, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as the competent authority must accept animals from other member states if they are accompanied by an official EU health certificate issued by the member state of origin. Trade takes place exclusively by reference to the various rules about the different diseases covered in those directives.

Under these directives the State veterinary services cannot require additional official guarantees. However, the individual importer is free to and can insist on additional conditions. This is the basis for the industry codes of practice. These codes amount to advice from knowledgeable sources about the type of diseases importers should be concerned about and what they can do to protect their herds. Diseases, once imported, are immensely expensive to eradicate or control. In the changed international trading situation that now exists, the onus for protecting the disease free status of our individual and national herds is spread between the farmer, the veterinary practitioner, the various industry representative bodies and the Department.

At official level we are, of course, limited by the terms of EU legislation as regards the level of checking which we can carry out on imported animals and the extent to which additional guarantees can be required over and above those laid down in EU trading directives. However, within those limits the Department is committed to ensuring that imported animals do not represent any risk to our existing health status. We have also sought Commission approval for the application of additional safeguards in relation to a number of diseases which are at present under consideration.

Given the foregoing, it is extremely important that all those involved in importing livestock continue to be extremely vigilant so as to ensure that we do not unwittingly introduce diseases into the country through imported animals. If imports are regarded as being essential, there is an onus on those importing to seek the additional guarantees over and above the mandatory community measures.

My Department has recommended from the outset of the liberalisation of trade that individuals importing animals should consider seeking additional guarantees relating to a variety of diseases and that the imported animals be isolated for 30 days prior to entering the herd of destination. These additional guarantees take the form of private veterinary certification relating to the status of the herd of origin in respect of certain diseases together with tests for these diseases on the individual animals being imported. I encourage the adoption of such codes in relation to all livestock imports and encourage all importers to abide by them.

The Single Market provides both opportunities and potential risks to Irish farmers. The opportunities involve unhindered access to EU markets and the potential risks include the possibility of introducing other diseases into Ireland following relaxation of our import controls. It is obvious that the trading scene has changed enormously. As regards trade with the Union, we can no longer return to our former system of quarantine and we cannot ban imports. My Department will work through the European Union's institutions to ensure reasonable conditions for imports and exports of animals in relation to those diseases which are properly dealt with in the public domain.

The various industry sectors can help in other areas, particularly through the promotion of the concept of advice in the form of a code of practice which, if all or a substantial majority choose to observe it, would significantly reduce the risks of importing disease.

Mr. Kelleher

The most important statement tonight was that "diseases, once imported, are immensely expensive to eradicate or control". We can guarantee whatever we like, but allowing animals to be imported into the country prior to inspection could jeopardise the national livestock industry. Voluntary codes of practice are not enough to protect the largest industry in the country. As an island nation, we must argue our case with the European Union.

Mr. Deenihan

This régime was put in place before I came to office. However, like any Minister with responsibility for animal health, I am concerned that imported animals could be a risk to the health of the national herd. We are continuously monitoring the occurrence of rare diseases in the national herd. I agree with the Senator that because we no longer have quarantine we are more exposed. I assure the Senator I will take his comments into consideration. I hope we will prevent diseases from coming into the country. It is important to remain vigilant and to consider further restrictions if required, although this could be difficult in the context of the EU. The Senator repeated views I have heard from a number of people outside this House. People are concerned about this issue, particularly when they consider the large number of cattle and other animals imported into the country on a regular basis.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.5 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 14 December 1995.