Vol. 482 No. 6
188 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the arrangements, if any, which have been made in France to ensure that animals which have been transported by sea from the Republic of Ireland to France have been rested for 12 hours, at, or near Cherbourg, in accordance with point 7(b) of chapter VII of the annex to Council Directive 91/628/EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EC. [18672/97]
The provisions of the two directives referred to have been transposed into Irish law by the Diseases of Animals (Protection of Animals during Transport) Orders, 1995 and 1997. These orders require that every transporter intending to export animals to the Continent must present a route plan to a veterinary inspector from my Department which is signed and stamped by that inspector only on the basis that such a route plan complies with the provisions of the orders including those relating to rest periods. In addition, a copy of the completed route plan must be returned to my Department within a maximum of seven days following the return of the means of transport to the State. Arrangements in place for the shipment of livestock to Cherbourg comply with these requirements.
Furthermore, veterinary inspectors from my Department occasionally travel on ships carrying livestock to the Continent and also carry out spotchecks of the relevant staging points at or near the port of destination. The directives concerned also impose obligations on both the member states of transit and destination.
