Vol. 539 No. 1
68 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the timescale which may be involved in restocking the Cooley Peninsula to its normal capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18797/01]
No firm timescale has been fixed for the re-population of the Cooley Peninsula. However, restocking with cattle is being allowed on the Cooley Peninsula on a case by case basis. This is guided by the perceived level of risk involved in the various sectors of the Cooley. Severely high risk areas include the affected holdings, contiguous, associated land parcels, adjacent premises and holdings on which were found serologically positive animals. High risk areas include the various commonages on which sheep grazed. Medium risk areas include the lowland farms on to which sheep were moved from the commonages and low risk areas are other lowland farms in the area.
Repopulation will be conducted on the basis of the best available veterinary advice and in a phased and controlled manner. It will depend inter alia on the progress of the national sheep identification scheme and the results of the serological survey of the national sheep flock. I do not wish to rush into restocking in a manner which would put the livelihoods of farmers and others at risk if the virus is still present on the peninsula.
