Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2004
77 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will provide an update on the threat posed by the spread of Australian and Irish flatworms to Irish agriculture; if he will review his policy of 2003 on this matter which envisaged no measures to counter the threat; and in view of the willingness of the public to support measures against FMD, if he will become proactive in a similar way to counter the flatworm threat. [14934/04]
View answerThe Australian flatworm, like the New Zealand flatworm, is a predator of earthworms. It does not affect plants and accordingly does not come within the scope of EU plant health regulations for which my Department has statutory responsibility. It also falls outside the scope of EU environmental regulations.
I am aware that the non-indigenous flatworm has been recorded at several sites in this country in recent years. There is no known control method apart from trapping the flatworms and physically destroying them. Despite implementing stringent plant health controls relating to imported plant material into the country, it is widely accepted that the Australian flatworm is not a plant health issue. It is an environmental one for which there are no practical, enforceable measures possible to prevent its entrance or spread within the EU. The Irish flatworm does not pose a threat to our native earthworm population.
