Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
339. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what precautions are being taken following an outbreak of blue tongue in the UK; if any routine testing has been carried out here; if any animals have ever tested positive in Ireland for blue tongue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4841/24]
View answerIreland is currently free of Bluetongue virus. Following the outbreak of Bluetongue in Great Britain, The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been taking several precautions.
Since 12 November 2023, the UK Government has temporarily suspended all movements of ruminants and their germinal products (semen, embryos) from Great Britain to the island of Ireland.
The greatest threat of Bluetongue entering the country comes from the import of an infected animal from a country in which Bluetongue is circulating. The Department has also been tracing and testing all cattle and sheep movements from Great Britain into Ireland between 1st October and 12th November 2023. All animals tested in this period have been negative for Bluetongue. Bluetongue is a notifiable disease, which means that any suspicion of the disease must be notified to the Department without delay, following which an official investigation is undertaken. All such investigations to date have ruled out the presence of the virus.
The Department also has ongoing passive and active surveillance for Bluetongue. Information campaigns targeting relevant stakeholders are also ongoing. My officials continue to liaise closely with their counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland taking an all-island approach to disease prevention and control. There has never been an outbreak of Bluetongue in Ireland, although the virus was detected in cows imported from France in 2021, 2017, 2016 and 2008.
