Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:262. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if there will be a review of restrictions on maternity services in hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27681/20]
View answerMaternity Services
Questions (262)
Written answers
I acknowledge that the current restrictions in maternity hospitals are presenting difficulties and this is hugely regrettable. However, it is necessary to reduce footfall in order to protect women, babies, staff and our maternity service as a whole.
Maternity hospitals have performed well during the pandemic and have continued to keep women, babies and staff safe. The fact that there have been no Covid maternal deaths in this country, and that we have a had a low incidence in pregnant women, suggests that the current approach is working.
However, we must remain vigilant as services resume and higher numbers of people attend hospitals. Maternity hospitals rely on very specialised personnel; should an outbreak of COVID-19 occur in a maternity hospital, the ability to provide safe, quality care would be severely impacted. It should be remembered that maternity hospitals care for fragile infants at the extremes of prematurity.
All maternity hospitals are challenged by the pandemic, but those challenges vary considerably. Decisions on any restrictions are therefore made, implemented and reviewed at hospital level.
Decisions to restrict visitors in our maternity hospitals have not been taken lightly. Management and staff are acutely aware of the very important support provided by partners at the time of birth. I have been assured that maternity hospitals wish to facilitate this support as far as possible. In that context, I can assure the Deputy that any restrictions currently in place have been minimised as much as possible and will be subject to ongoing review.
I note that restrictions have eased somewhat in certain hospitals in recent weeks and I hope this will continue. However, the recent rise in the numbers of people infected with the virus, including healthcare workers, is very worrying and may impact on the pace of the easing of restrictions.
The Deputy may wish to note that the National Women & Infants Health Programme has developed a guidance document on restrictions in maternity hospitals/units and this issued to all maternity services last week. The paper seeks to ensure a consistent national approach to visitor restrictions, as far as is practicable and having due regard to local circumstances. Each maternity service/network has been requested to review visiting arrangements on a weekly basis, in the context of the issues and factors identified in the paper.
Pigmeat Sector
Questions (263, 264)
Joe O'Brien
Question:263. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of piglets that had their teeth clipped or grinded in each of the years 2017 to 2019; the percentage of the overall piglet numbers these represent; and the reason given by producers for carrying out the procedure. [27410/20]
View answerJoe O'Brien
Question:264. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of pigs that had their tail docked in each of the years 2017 to 2019; the percentage of the overall piglet numbers these represent; and the reason given by producers for carrying out the procedure. [27411/20]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 263 and 264 together.
Specific EU and national legislation is in place that sets out the minimum animal welfare standards for pigs kept for breeding or fattening. The legislation prohibits routine clipping or grinding of the corner teeth of piglets and routine docking of pig’s tails. However, these procedures are allowed where it has been shown that injury has occurred to either sow’s teats or the tails of other pigs, provided other measures have been taken to prevent tail biting and in the case of teeth clipping/grinding the procedure is carried out within the first 7 days of the piglet's life.
My Department does not have specific data on the number of piglets that have had their teeth clipped/grinded or their tails docked in the years mentioned. However in the coming weeks, the ante mortem aspect of the Department’s computerised pig meat inspection system (“Pig AMPM”) will become operational. In addition to other ante-mortem inspection criteria, the system will record the percentage of pigs that are tail docked for every batch of pigs sent to slaughter. This means that more accurate data on the occurrence of tail docking in Irish pig herds will be available in the future.
Pigmeat Sector
Questions (265)
Joe O'Brien
Question:265. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of the different antibiotics administered to pigs in the pig industry in each of the years 2017 to 2019; the level of antibiotic used in the pig industry; the measures being put in place by his Department to reduce the use of antibiotics in the industry; and the research carried out by his Department on the long-term effects on the human population of antibiotic use in pigs. [27412/20]
View answerWritten answers
A new National Pig Antimicrobial Usage Database has been introduced in November 2019 to record the usage of antibiotics in commercial Irish pig herds. Prior to this, the sales data of antimicrobials for use in pigs has been included in the annual report published by the Health Products Regulatory Authority. This sales data is at a national level, and it is not possible to directly extrapolate figures for the pig industry.
The Pig AMU database is designed to collect farm level data on a quarterly basis, feed back reports to farmers to inform them of their level of antimicrobial use, and allow farmers to benchmark themselves against their peers. Data received by the AMU database for pigs so far indicates that the most widely used antibiotics in pigs are the older classes of antibiotics, with much lower amounts of other antibiotics regarded as Highest Priority Critically Important antibiotics for human health being used.
At this point in time, antibiotic use data has been received from 121 herds of interest out of approximately 350 who are required to submit data. The data received so far is encouraging in that it demonstrates a relatively low level of antibiotic use in many herds with a national average of 96mg/kg for 2019. This figure is likely to change as we receive more data but it does highlight the value in having a figure for the level of antibiotic use in Irish pigs.
Measuring antimicrobial use is a pivotal part of the national effort to reduce overall use, and promote responsible use where necessary. Quantifying antimicrobial usage also allows us to measure the impact of the reduction strategies being implemented, demonstrate national trends, inform policy decisions, and enhance best practice. Development of this Pig AMU database is part of a range of measures that have been commenced and implemented as part of Ireland's National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance 2017-2020 (iNAP) Animal Health Sector Implementation Committee action plan. My Department together with the Department of Health launched Irelands first ‘One Health’ national action plan, iNAP, to address the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in human health, animal health and the environment. The launch of the iNAP Animal Health Implementation Committee in January 2018 has played a pivotal role in facilitating multidisciplinary collaborative efforts across key stakeholders in the animal health sector to tackle AMR.
Currently, there are 54 actions in the implementation plan for the animal health and environment sector. Actions or measures that have been taken to reduce the use of antibiotics in the pig sector include raising knowledge and awareness of AMR amongst pig farmers, farm advisors and veterinary practitioners through conferences, discussion groups , online campaigns, articles in print media. A set of guidelines on the responsible use of antibiotics in the pig industry were developed collaboratively by the IFA, Veterinary Ireland and Teagasc under the stewardship of the Animal and Plant Health Association, these guidelines provide practical tools and strategies for pig farmers to reduce the use of antibiotics. There is national surveillance of AMR in zoonotic and commensal bacteria in pigs carried out in accordance with EU legislation and the findings of this surveillance are shared with industry in order to drive behavioural change around the use of antibiotics.
New EU Regulations which will apply from January 2022 will aim to reduce the amount of antibiotics being used in all sectors of agriculture in the context of the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to protect human health. A research project funded by DAFM and carried out by Teagasc (AMURAP) covered one third of the Irish sow population and quantified the level of antimicrobial usage (AMU) in the pig industry between 2016-2018 and is currently looking at the levels of AMR present on those farms monitored in the study to try and correlate AMU to AMR. A previous research project, PathSurvPig looked the incidence of respiratory disease on pig farms and what interventions are necessary to improve overall animal health and thereby reduce the need to use antibiotics. The findings of this project were shared directly with pig farmers and the farms involved in this research had very significant reductions in antibiotic use. One of the farmers participating in the research project won an award at EU level, and was highlighted as an example of best practice. My department continues to fund research that focuses on disease prevention and other ways of reducing the overall usage of antibiotics in the pig sector as we continue to adopt a One Health approach. The overall goal of iNAP is to reduce the use of antibiotics in both the human and animal health sectors and thereby address the public health threat of AMR.
A previous research project, PathSurvPig looked the incidence of respiratory disease on pig farms and what interventions are necessary to improve overall animal health and thereby reduce the need to use antibiotics. The findings of this project were shared directly with pig farmers and the farms involved in this research had very significant reductions in antibiotic use. One of the farmers participating in the research project won an award at EU level, and was highlighted as an example of best practice. My department continues to fund research that focuses on disease prevention and other ways of reducing the overall usage of antibiotics in the pig sector as we continue to adopt a One Health approach. The overall goal of iNAP is to reduce the use of antibiotics in both the human and animal health sectors and thereby address the public health threat of AMR.
Pigmeat Sector
Questions (266)
Joe O'Brien
Question:266. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of pigs that have been exported live to date in 2020; the age of the majority of pigs, that is, over 75%, that were exported live; the countries to which they were exported; the number by each country; and the reason pigs are being exported live. [27413/20]
View answerWritten answers
Figures taken from the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), which is the EU-wide online management tool for all sanitary requirements on intra-EU trade and importation of animals, semen and embryo, food, feed and plants, show that as of mid-September, Ireland has exported a total of just over 370,000 live pigs. The overwhelming majority of these have gone to Northern Ireland, with small numbers also having been exported to Britain, Spain and Italy. In each case, the vast majority of these pigs were exported for the purposes of slaughter, with smaller numbers designated as being for the purposes of production or breeding, as detailed in the following table.
TRACES does not provide a breakdown by age of livestock at the time of export.
Veterinary Inspection Service
Questions (267)
Alan Dillon
Question:267. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to recruit veterinary inspectors and technical agricultural officers for County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27458/20]
View answerWritten answers
My Department is committed to ensuring that a highly skilled, motivated and efficient workforce is in place to meet on-going business needs and avails of workforce planning to identify and assess these needs for all locations, on an on-going basis.
Staff recruitment is continuing in my Department at present. Posts continue to be advertised either by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) or by my Department's Human Resources Division.
I understand there are no plans currently to recruit Veterinary Inspectors or Technical Agricultural Officers in the Mayo region. As business needs arise, staff will be allocated to the various work areas within my Department.
GLAS Issues
Questions (268, 276)
Brendan Griffin
Question:268. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the GLAS scheme is due to be phased out this year; if so, his plans for a scheme to replace it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27466/20]
View answerBrendan Griffin
Question:276. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the commitment in the programme for Government for a new REPS 2 programme will be in addition to the national co-financing commitment from the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27599/20]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 276 together.
Existing contracts under the GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 schemes finish at the end of this year. GLAS 3 contracts will finish at the end of 2021.
In relation to the arrangements for 2021, my Department is pressing for the earliest adoption of EU regulations to facilitate the operation of schemes in the period between the current CAP and the CAP Strategic Plan post-2020. Once the regulatory framework has been determined, we will be in a position to make decisions about the next period. This will provide legal and financial certainty and consequently provide clarity on the next steps.
As indicated in the Programme for Government, it is proposed that €1.5 billion will be allocated, from the proposed Climate Action Fund over the next ten years, to a rural environment protection programme to encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way. The funding from the CAP for such programmes is co-funded nationally. The Programme for Government states that this €1.5 billion allocation from the Fund over the ten years will be additional to CAP funding. The planning and funding for this scheme will be matters for discussion as part of the planning for the next CAP programming period.
Basic Payment Scheme
Questions (269)
Brendan Griffin
Question:269. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a 2015 basic payment scheme penalty applied to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be struck off; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27532/20]
View answerWritten answers
The person named submitted a 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application on the 28th April 2015.
The application of the person named was the subject of a ground eligibility inspection on the 4th September 2015. This inspection identified an over-declaration in area of between 3% and 20% and the person named was notified of this outcome by letter dated 16th November 2015. Payments under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme, based on the reduced area, issued on 23rd November and 1st December, 2015.
A review of the inspection outcome was undertaken following submission of additonal information on behalf of the person named on 25th November 2015 and 18th January 2016. This review included a re-inspection of the land on 29th January 2016, which resulted in an increase in the eligible area by 2 hectares. Notification of the outcome of this review issued to the person named on the 9th March 2016. A supplementary payment under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme issued on the 24th June 2016, based on the increased eligible area.
The person named appealed the inspection outcome to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office on the 28th July 2016. The Appeals Officer's decision letter issued on 6th April 2017 advising that the revised inspection outcome was upheld. A request for a review of this decision by the Director of the Agriculture Appeals Office was submitted and the Director's decision issued on 23rd August 2019, upholding the original Appeals Officer's decision.
The Deputy will appreciate that it would be entirely inappropriate for me to intervene in an independent appeals process.
Agriculture Industry
Questions (270)
Matt Carthy
Question:270. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commission a review of the wool sector with a view to developing a viable commercial use for this premium product; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27536/20]
View answerWritten answers
Wool production is an important component of agri-industry and Ireland produces excellent quality wool. In an industry such as the wool industry where prices tend to move in cycles, it is imperative that the players ensure and promote a diversity of options for the product in the market place. The current market uncertainties should provide an impetus for the industry players to come together to see what business opportunities are out there and try to promote the excellent product in as many markets as possible.
As set out in the Programme for Government, I propose to examine the possibility of undertaking a review of the potential demand in domestic and international markets for wool-based products such as insulation and fertilisers.
Tillage Sector
Questions (271)
Matt Carthy
Question:271. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to provide financial support to the tillage sector in view of the challenges resulting from the exceptionally wet autumn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27537/20]
View answerWritten answers
I am acutely aware of the difficulties encountered by the tillage sector primarily because of poor weather conditions over the last twelve months. As a result of these conditions, it is expected that levels of both grain and straw will be less than the 2019 output but I welcome the recent predictions that the harvest will not be as bad as earlier anticipated.
There are many supports available to the tillage sector from my Department with, for example, specific measures in the GLAS scheme e.g. arable margins, cover crops and an exemption from the 3-crop rule for specialist malting barley growers. Other supports put in place in recent times include:
- The 2017 Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme
- The Brexit Loan Scheme
- The Coupled Protein Aid Scheme worth €3m annually to tillage farmers
- The 2018 fodder production incentive measure for tillage farmers
- The Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS) under TAMS
- Exemption to the crop diversification requirements as part of Greening for 2020 on a case-by-case basis.
My Department also provides an independent free crop variety evaluation programme and a seed certification scheme in support of the sector.
These schemes and supports provide significant investment in tillage and underpin the Governments ongoing commitment to this important area.
Last July, my predecessor launched the Tillage Industry Ireland report into the Irish Tillage Sector. My Department will examine the content of the report and engage with Stakeholders as appropriate.
In that context, I together with my officials will continue to monitor the current situation as future details in relation to the 2020 harvest come to hand.
Departmental Expenditure
Questions (272)
Matt Carthy
Question:272. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount spent on media monitoring services by his Department; if the role is provided by private contract operators or in-house services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27570/20]
View answerWritten answers
My Department avails of media monitoring services related to the policies and services of the Department. The service is provided by Truehawk Media and the expenditure for this service, excluding VAT, to date in 2020 is €11,200.
Common Agricultural Policy
Questions (273)
Brendan Griffin
Question:273. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts he is making to retain full funding for existing farm schemes in the CAP transition phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27595/20]
View answerWritten answers
I can assure the Deputy that I am working with my officials and Ministerial colleagues to ensure that we have a sufficient national and EU budget for the transitional period. The national funding is a matter for discussion as part of the annual budgetary process which is currently underway. EU funding is somewhat more complex - the exact budgetary details will have to be incorporated into the transitional regulations after agreement on the EU budget has been reached between the European Council and the European Parliament. This is not now expected until late October at the earliest.
On continuing existing schemes, I can say that, in cases where contracts are already in place to continue beyond 2020, these will continue as outlined under the RDP.
However, the issue is more complex for annual measures or multi-annual measures that are scheduled to finish at the end of 2020.
Regarding the plans for the existing schemes under the Rural Development Programme, no final decisions will be made until there is clarity in relation to budget and duration.
In the meantime, I am currently considering the potential options available, as well as engaging with stakeholders for their views. We will need to ensure that what we do in the transitional period is consistent with Programme for Government commitments, as well as providing a solid foundation for the development of our CAP Strategic Plan for the period to 2027. In addition, the very ambitious targets set out in the EU Bio-Diversity Strategy and Farm to Fork Strategy will have to be taken into account.
Agriculture Schemes
Questions (274)
Brendan Griffin
Question:274. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the GLAS, ANC, TAMS, BDGP, BEEPS, sheep welfare and organic schemes will be continued with maintained payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27596/20]
View answerWritten answers
It is difficult to provide the Deputy with a definitive response at this stage on the specific Rural Development Programme schemes that will be continued in the transitional period.
I can say that, in cases where contracts are already in place under relevant Schemes to continue beyond 2020, these will continue as outlined under the RDP.
The issue is more complex for annual measures or multi-annual measures that are scheduled to finish at the end of 2020, given the ongoing delay in the adoption of the transitional rules at EU level, which is not now expected until late October at the earliest. Budgetary details will have to be incorporated into the regulations after agreement on the EU budget has been reached with the European Parliament, and the duration of the transition period - one or two years - is also still to be finally agreed.
Regarding the plans for the existing schemes under the Rural Development Programme, no final decisions will be made until there is clarity in relation to budget and duration.
In the meantime, I am currently considering the potential options available, as well as engaging with stakeholders for their views. We will need to ensure that what we do in the transitional period is consistent with Programme for Government commitments, as well as providing a solid foundation for the development of our CAP Strategic Plan for the period to 2027. In addition, the very ambitious targets set out in the EU Bio-Diversity Strategy and Farm to Fork Strategy will have to be taken into account.
Common Agricultural Policy
Questions (275)
Brendan Griffin
Question:275. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts he is making to secure the maximum permissible level of national co-financing of 57% in the CAP RDP post 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27598/20]
View answerWritten answers
Decisions on the level of funding to be applied to the CAP post 2020, including the RDP co-financing rates, are part of the wider Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) discussions. European Council agreement on the MFF was reached by Heads of State and Government in July and this agreement is now subject to further discussions with the European Parliament.
The availability of national financing will be a matter for discussion as part of the annual budgetary process. In this regard, I can assure the Deputy of my full commitment to supporting an effective CAP Strategic Plan that will enable farmers to continue to provide high quality food while dealing with the range of environmental and other challenges that must be dealt with and that will ensure that all of the available EU funding is drawn down.
Question No. 276 answered with Question No. 268.
Grant Payments
Questions (277)
Brendan Griffin
Question:277. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to increase payments to €300 per cow for beef farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27600/20]
View answerWritten answers
Examination of supports for all relevant sectors in the context of the next CAP is currently underway in my Department. In the current RDP, the core support for the beef sector is the €300 Million Beef Data and Genomics Programme. It is envisaged that the gains in the genetic merit of the national herd made for the sector in through the programme will be built on in the next RDP.
In addition to this support, over the last two years, over €200 million of additional supports was made available specifically to the beef sector, not including a €23 million top up to ANCs in 2019 which primarily benefited beef farmers.
The recent €50 million Beef Finishers Payment (BFP) is targeted towards beef finishers in recognition of the fact that they have borne the most immediate and severe economic impact arising from the market disturbance arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting finishers will have a positive impact on suckling and store buying enterprises, as it will help to maintain the market into which these operators sell, primarily in the autumn.
The 2020 Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme - Sucklers (BEEP-S), the successor of the BEEP 2019 pilot programme, is targeted specifically at suckler farmers and aims to enhance the operational, economic and environmental efficiency of suckler enterprises.
Last year, the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (2019), co-funded by the EU and Irish exchequer, and with an available budget of €100 million, was designed to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector for both finished animals and suckler cows.
I am satisfied that the range of supports currently made available are appropriate to support the beef sector.
Agriculture Scheme Applications
Questions (278)
Brendan Griffin
Question:278. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to streamline the grant process for cattle underpasses, simplifying the administration process and making the scheme attractive to all farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27601/20]
View answerWritten answers
There are a wide variety of items available under the suite of seven measures under TAMS II. However, funding for cattle underpasses are not included. The financial allocation in respect of TAMS for the full Rural Development Programme period is €395m. To date, total expenditure, including transitional expenditure, has reached €243m with committments of an additional €130m made to scheme participants who have yet to draw down those commitments.
31,729 applications have been approved under the scheme. All outstanding approvals issued represent potential outstanding liabilities for my Department and we must have a budget in place to pay these claims. As a result, it is not possible to consider adding additional items such as cattle underpasses to the comprehensive list of investment items already available under TAMS II.
Brexit Preparations
Questions (279)
Brendan Griffin
Question:279. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is seeking a strengthening of the Brexit contingency fund as announced in budget 2020; if the €110 million agriculture fund will be increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27610/20]
View answerWritten answers
My Department's Brexit preparedness work has resulted in various supports being introduced over successive budgets to help the agri-food and fisheries sectors mitigate the impact of Brexit.
These include supports in the form of direct aid, as well as the provision of low-cost loans such as the €300 million Future Growth Loan Scheme. In addition, in 2019, my Department introduced the €100 million Beef Exceptional Aid Measure in recognition of a very difficult year for the beef sector and a prolonged period of price uncertainty caused by various factors, including Brexit.
The impact of Brexit on the agricultural sector will be kept under ongoing review. In this regard the recently published Brexit Readiness Action Plan confirms that further measures to support affected sectors will be considered over the coming months. I also welcome the Multi-Annual Financial Framework agreement reached in July by Heads of State and Government, which includes a €5 billion Brexit Adjustment Reserve for those Member States and sectors most affected by Brexit. I will work to ensure that the agri-food sector gets an adequate allocation from that funding.
Decisions on funding for my Department for 2021 will be made in the context of the Annual Budgetary process.
Forestry Sector
Questions (280)
Brendan Griffin
Question:280. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek further funding to restore the farmer forestry premium; if he will introduce a harvesting plan grant; if he will review the ash dieback scheme to include an income compensation element; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27611/20]
View answerWritten answers
Work on a new ambitious Forestry Programme is due to begin in the coming months. This will include a public consultation process and full stakeholder engagement across the sector. Restoration of the farmer premium and a grant for the harvesting plan can be considered within this consultation framework.
The Ash Dieback scheme was subject to a review starting in April 2018. A new approach was proposed and circulated for stakeholder consultation in December 2019, a total of 18 submissions were received in reply. All submissions were carefully considered, and a number of meetings held with stakeholders to finalise a new scheme document. The new Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme or RUS was launched in June 2020 and provided financial supports to owners of infected plantations of up to €6,220 per hectare to replant with an alternative species. While RUS did not include compensation for loss of income, it did provide for a broader range of silvicultural and management options aimed at maximizing the economic recovery from the crop.
Animal Diseases
Questions (281)
Brendan Griffin
Question:281. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will work with the Minister for Finance to secure a 0% VAT rating for animal vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27614/20]
View answerWritten answers
Questions relating to taxation are ultimately matters for my colleague the Minister for Finance.
As part of the current ‘One Health’ national action plan to address antimicrobial resistance, disease prevention is a key tool to reducing the need for antimicrobials and in particular antibiotics. My understanding is that in order to seek a reduction in the VAT rate for vaccines used in animals, the VAT would also have to be reduced for vaccines used in the human population. My officials have been liaising with colleagues in the Department of Health to consider the options.