Vol. 539 No. 1
17 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he intends to ensure that the restrictions in place which protected the country from an outbreak of foot and mouth disease should remain in place as a matter of routine to protect animal health and food safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19031/01]
A comprehensive range of measures was introduced in recent months to prevent the possible spread of foot and mouth disease. These measures included strict biosecurity measures at ports and airports and on farms, the closure of livestock marts, prohibitions on the importation of produce and livestock from countries with foot and mouth cases, the placing of Garda checkpoints on Border crossings and a range of strict controls on the movement of animals within the country.
It is not possible or necessary to keep all of these controls in place on a permanent basis. Some were introduced in the context of addressing the specific threat posed by foot and mouth disease and the retention of all of them would make the business of farming impossible, or tie up enormous State resources that are urgently required for services in other areas. I have, therefore, in recent weeks made a series of announcements relaxing various measures in a phased and controlled manner. Most significantly, I permitted the reopening of the marts on 18 June. All of these announcements were made on the basis of advice from the expert group. They were intended to allow the resumption, to some degree, of normal life in the agricultural sector while taking account of the residual FMD risk, particularly from Britain. I will continue to make such adjustments to the remaining controls as are necessary to allow the business of farming and, indeed, activities in other sectors to continue having regard to any remaining risk of spreading disease and based on the advice of the expert group.
I accept the import of the issues raised in the Deputy's question. I will try to discover the extent to which there is a need to retain a number of the controls. Some of these are essential hygiene regulations. On better farms and in better areas where susceptible animals are gathered, such regulations should be obeyed as a matter of course. I hope that we do not return to a pre-foot and mouth situation in respect of some of the controls we have put in place. However, as already stated, I have allowed the relaxation of a number of controls in order to facilitate a return, in so far as is possible, to normality.
I compliment the Minister and the Department on their success in containing the outbreak of foot and mouth here. Some of the restrictions put in place such as the disposal of slurry and restrictions on the movement of animals proved extremely effective and could contribute significantly to improving animal health and food safety. Diseases such as TB, brucellosis and salmonellosis have economic implications, but they also have implications for human health and food safety. They have dogged this country for many years and vast amounts of money have been spent on trying to eradicate them, but we have failed in that regard. Foot and mouth is what I would term an "economic" disease and we have been able to contain it. If the same rigorous approach were taken to controlling and eliminating TB, brucellosis and salmonellosis, we could expect a more effective outcome.
I agree with Deputy Upton that the response of people, and not just farmers, to the outbreak of foot and mouth was outstanding. I have already asked sections within my Department to provide up-to-date statistics on other diseases to see how they have been affected by the curtailment of animal movement. It will be interesting to see what emerges, particularly in respect of the diseases – TB, brucellosis and salmonella – to which the Deputy referred and in the context of food safety. Lessons should be learned from our experience with foot and mouth and I assure her that I will be carefully examining the range of control measures that remain in place. I will consider retaining a number of these if the Department's veterinary experts deems it necessary or advisable.
