Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2004
118 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will report on his meeting of 26 January 2004 with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Ian Pearson MP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4915/04]
View answerI had a very useful discussion with Mr. Ian Pearson MP, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, on animal health issues and the implementation of the 2003 reform agreement on the Common Agriculture Policy.
On animal health, we reviewed the paper produced by both administrations reporting progress towards the development of co-ordinated animal health strategies for the island. We agreed that the ultimate objective of an all-island animal health strategy should be free movement of animals on the island subject to EU rules. We noted the main achievements to date including the development of complementary approaches towards preventing the introduction of animal disease, the convergence of policies on scrapie and the strengthening of co-ordination and co-operation on issues such as contingency planning, BSE and cross-Border fraud. We also noted the ongoing work on a wide range of issues, including animal identification and traceability, disease surveillance, animal welfare, the alignment of disease testing programmes and bio-security.
We have agreed to establish a joint working group to consider cross-compliance issues arising from implementation of CAP reform given the desirability of taking a joint approach to this within the island.
