Animal Diseases

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022

Thursday, 8 September 2022

Questions (2096)

John McGuinness

Question:

2096. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 890 of 5 July 2022, if he will give consideration to the use of the product Equimune or similar treatments under the strict control and oversight of his Department and on a trial basis to treat the horses on the farm of a person (details supplied) in order to determine whether the disease can be eliminated; if he will consult with the other parties involved in the previous investigations to determine if the suggestion has merit; if he will engage with the person to explore this and other options; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42153/22]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Veterinary Medicinal Product ‘Equimune,’ is not currently licenced for use in Ireland. Any application for a clinical trial using this product should be sent to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) which manages all such applicants.  

My Department’s laboratory and veterinary staff  have engaged with the named individual and his veterinary advisers over a prolonged period of time regarding his concerns about the health status of his horses.  

Comprehensive clinical and laboratory investigations have been undertaken by private veterinary practitioners, by my Department’s laboratory specialists, and by other specialist veterinary experts from the Irish Equine Centre and University College Dublin’s School of Veterinary Medicine, as requested by my Department. 

However, none of these investigations have revealed any evidence of a clinical illness in the horses that could be attributed to a specific infectious disease, and no evidence was found to support the person's concerns about an infectious disease impairing the performance of his horses.  

Therefore, my Department does not believe there is any basis for further investigation  at this time. Any consideration of the use of licensed veterinary medicines is a matter for his veterinary practitioner.