I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Aylward. It is the first time he has attended a meeting of this committee since his appointment and I wish him well in his position. I also welcome the officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food. I ask the Minister of State to introduce the resolution.
Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001: Resolution.
I thank the Chairman for his kind introduction. I am glad to be on this side of the table, as I sat on the other side of it on many occasions.
The issue we are dealing with today relates to resolutions, which have been laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, seeking approval for the continuation of section 17A of the Diseases of Animals Act 1966 for a further 12 months. This section was inserted in that Act by section 2(1) of the Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001 which was passed into law on 9 March 2001. Section 2(2)(a) of this Act provided that section 17A would remain in force for 12 months from the date of the passing of the Act and would then expire. However, section 2(2)(b) provides that section 17A may be continued by a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas, passed before it expires, for such further period as is expressed in the resolution. In March 2002, both Houses agreed to extend section 17A to 8 March 2003 and I am now seeking the agreement of both Houses for the necessary resolutions to extend the section for a further 12 months.
There is little need to explain to this committee that the health status of cattle, sheep, pigs and other farm animals is of major economic and social importance to the economy. One of the findings of the evaluation of the impact of foot and mouth disease, undertaken in early 2002 by the economic consultants INDECON, was that a more widespread outbreak of foot and mouth disease here would have resulted in a reduction in GDP of between €1 billion, 0.96%, and €5.6 billion, 5.4%. Job losses would have ranged from 550, in a best case scenario of a three month export ban on animals and certain agricultural products, to over 12,000 in the case of a 24 month ban. There would have been long-term damage to the reputation of the Irish agri-food sector, which is valued at €9 billion annually. The INDECON report indicated that there would have been additional and significant negative implications for the tourism sector and non-tourism related elements of the domestic economy, as well as consequences for the Exchequer through compensation for extended culls, etc.
It is against this background that I remain determined to ensure the State has the necessary statutory powers to deal with real and potential animal disease threats and with unscrupulous individuals who might take risks with the animal health status of the country for personal gain. Despite the powers that already existed under the Diseases of Animals Act 1966, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh, brought before both Houses of the Oireachtas in March 2001 proposals to amend the 1966 Act to improve the State's capacity to deal with animal disease outbreaks. Such proposals had particular immediacy in 2001 in the context of the ongoing foot and mouth disease crisis. On foot of the Minister's proposals, the Oireachtas saw fit to enact the Disease of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001, which added a number of stringent measures to the Diseases of Animals Act 1966.
The main provisions of the 2001 Act included an enabling provision for the regulation of dealers in animals. This provision defined dealers and empowered the Minister to approve and register dealers in animals or poultry and their premises and to regulate their activities. It also provided powers to prescribe that a person who purchased an animal may not sell or move that animal from his or her lands, save under permit, for a period of at least 30 days. The Act also provided for a number of new animal health offences attracting penalties of a fine not exceeding £1,500 and-or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months on summary conviction and a fine not exceeding £100,000 and-or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years on conviction on indictment. Courts were given the authority to order the forfeiture of any land, premises, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or container involved in the commission of an offence on conviction on indictment of an offence under the 1966 Act or the 1956 foot and mouth disease order.
The Act also provided for, in addition to any other penalty, the disqualification by a court of a person or company from agriculture based activities on conviction on indictment of an offence under the Diseases of Animals Act 1966 or the 1956 foot and mouth disease order. It also provided for the presumption of illegal removal, switching or tampering with an ear tag or, as appropriate, illegal importation of an animal in proceedings under the 1966 Act, EU regulations or national regulations introduced in transposition of EU rules. It also provided for the insertion of section 17A into the Diseases of Animals Act 1966. This section is the subject of the resolution before the committee today.
Section 17A provides for the appointment of officers by the Minister for Agriculture and Food and confers extensive powers on them in cases of reasonable suspicion that an animal disease is or may be present or that an offence is being or may be committed under the 1966 Act or EU rules. It is important to stress that the provisions of section 17A do not relate solely to foot and mouth disease but are applicable to other animal diseases covered by the Act. While section 17A may have been seen to have had a particular immediacy and relevance in the context of dealing with the 2001 foot and mouth disease crisis, it provides the State with the means of dealing more effectively with many more situations which could place agriculture and those who depend on it for their livelihoods in jeopardy. The powers conferred on authorised officers by section 17A include, inter alia, powers to enter and search land or premises, to stop and search persons or vehicles and to seize, detain, mark or examine an animal, animal product, fodder, litter or vehicle. A search warrant is required in the case of entry to a private dwelling. An authorised officer is empowered to require a person to produce documents and give information.
Section 17A also provides that an authorised officer may dispose of an animal - including by slaughter - animal products, fodder or litter. This provision is not linked with the compensation provisions following slaughter as provided in section 17 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1966. Compensation is not provided for in section 17A on the basis that where such losses result, either directly or indirectly, from breaches of the Diseases of Animals Acts or other wrongdoing, the taxpayer should not have to pick up the tab for such losses. Section 17A also provides for penalties for obstruction or non-co-operation with an authorised officer. As it was appropriate given the wide-ranging powers conferred by this provision that the Houses of the Oireachtas should have the opportunity to re-examine them at appropriate intervals, the Government proposed an amendment to the 2001 Bill to allow the Houses of the Oireachtas to review section 17A after 12 months.
It is more apparent than ever that animal diseases have the potential to cause serious social and economic damage, with effects on every section of our society. While advances in veterinary medicine have provided us with better tools with which to treat such diseases, certain features of modern life and trade increase the potential for the spread of animal diseases between and within countries. We can never say that we will not again be confronted with a serious animal disease outbreak, nor can we predict when we might be presented with such a challenge, in all probability with little or no notice. Increased mobility and the facility for international travel, the trade relationships which exist in the context of the EU Single Market and greater liberalisation of trade under the auspices of the WTO, while all positive, are factors which contribute to greater potential for the spread of animal diseases than might have been the case in the past. If one adds to this the fact that, irrespective of the potential for damage to their neighbours and their country, people may be tempted to engage for personal financial gain in abuses involving the illegal movement of animals, it is apparent that we cannot afford to relax in relation to this area of concern.
I am happy we have done much in recent times to improve our capacity to deal with animal diseases and to deter wrongdoers. For many years, we have had an excellent CMMS system to identify and trace cattle. With the introduction of the national sheep identification system in 2001, we now have a system to facilitate individual identification and traceability of sheep in the national flock and of imported sheep. Since mid-2002, we have a national pig identification and tracing system (NPITS) in place. There is also a system of approval and registration of dealers and we have tightened up arrangements for the reception of animals into meat plants and for personal and commercial imports of food products. We have increased the penalties the courts can impose on those convicted of abuses. We have done much to provide systems to contain diseases and to ensure that additional means are in place through which any abuses can be detected. There is now an increased likelihood of detection and the punishments for those detected and convicted are stiffer.
It is imperative for the agricultural food industry across Europe that we learn the lessons of the 2001 crisis. My Department has participated in a review by the European Parliament's temporary committee on foot and mouth disease and is currently participating at Council working group level to fine tune the foot and mouth directive proposed by the Commission following the parliamentary review. My Department conducted a review of domestic reactions to the crisis in December 2001 and sought the views of its own staff, the Garda, customs authorities, local authorities and other key organisations involved in managing the crisis. The fruit of that work will be a revised foot and mouth disease contingency plan and operations manual which is nearing completion. I will shortly be in a position to announce its publication date. The manual will be a practical guide to managing a foot and mouth disease crisis and will reflect the experience of those who worked at the coal face during 2001. The Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001 is an invaluable part of this legacy. Section 17A provides for the policing and enforcement powers which are such a vital element in the fight against animal disease, though it requires annual review by the Houses of the Oireachtas if it is to remain extant.
The foot and mouth disease crisis underlined the need to improve co-operation with our counterparts in Northern Ireland. Considerable progress towards the development of an all-Ireland animal health strategy has been made under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council. At its meeting in September, the council endorsed a paper setting out the scope for convergence of animal health policies North and South and agreed that officials should seek to finalise discussions with the British authorities prior to final agreement of the strategy. The strategy covers the development of a common approach as well as policies in the areas of animal identification and tracing, disease surveillance, disease control, veterinary medicines, animal welfare and imports of animals and animal products onto the island of Ireland. Currently the detailed issues involved are being taken forward at official level by a number of policy working groups.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is essential that we remain prepared to tackle and defeat any disease threat which emerges. The time and circumstances are not right for discarding any part of the legislative armoury we have put in place in recent years and which has served us well. The powers contained in section 17A of the Diseases of Animals Act should be retained for a further period of 12 months and I ask the committee to support that course today. This time last year, the Minister informed the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that he had obtained Government approval to introduce a Bill to replace and update the Diseases of Animals Acts. Since that time, the general scheme of an animal health Bill has been drafted and approved by the Government. Drafting of the Bill itself will now commence. My objective is to produce updated and consolidated legislation which will retain many of the aspects of the 1966 and 2001 Acts, but which will also contain additional features. The Bill will subsume the provisions of section 17A of the existing Act, which is the subject of our deliberations today.
The proposed legislation is intended to reflect fully the continuing economic and social importance of agriculture in Ireland and it will build on our collective experiences of recent years. It will provide the means to develop and safeguard Irish agriculture in the years ahead and provide a framework within which all concerned can promote, sustain and defend best practice regarding animal health. I trust the committee will accept the case I have made for the retention of section 17A for a further 12-month period and that it will agree with the adoption of the resolution by both Houses.
I thank the Minister of State for raising these issues. I hope to return to them when the animal health Bill is before the Dáil. It is imperative that we develop an all-island strategy as soon as possible. Fine Gael supports this resolution.
I support the resolution and thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive and interesting document he set out. It is timely to say we are grateful foot and mouth disease was kept out of the country, but viruses and bacteria have no regard for lines on a map, which makes it important that we consider the all-Ireland approach to animal disease control.
There are other animal diseases of concern such as TB and brucellosis and I have no doubt the Minister of State will address them in the future.
I join in the welcome extended to the Minister of State and his officials. We are delighted to congratulate him on being on the other side of the table. Like Deputies Timmins and Upton, I support the continuance of the controls.
It has come to my attention that discussion has taken place in the European Parliament's temporary committee on foot and mouth disease regarding the use of injections to control the disease if it occurs again. What is the Irish position with regard to that? I am also concerned to see that there is a tendency to drop our guard now that the crisis has passed. We should therefore welcome the continued use of controls.
Information has come from the neighbouring island that controls are being loosened, which must cause us concern. I have long supported the all-Ireland approach and I am pleased to hear it discussed at length in the Minister of State's submission. It is imperative in terms of control of animal disease and other agriculture related matters.
I thank the Minister of State for his presentation. While I agree in principle with him, I have reservations about the powers of search with regard to premises, persons and vehicles and the powers to seize and detain. To search a private dwelling requires a warrant and I would like to see provision made to ensure that is the case in terms of any search.
I welcome the Thirty-two Counties strategy to eradicate disease. It should not be left to sit idle despite the suspension of the Executive which I understand may have caused some problems. It is incumbent on all political parties to advance this process to eradicate disease and to prevent any crisis.
I welcome the Minister of State to the committee and join my colleagues in supporting the proposal he has made. Have there been any significant breaches of the provisions of section 17A in the last 12 months?
I thank Members for their support on this legislation. It is important to state that this is still a temporary measure and we must have it enacted by before 8 March to enable it to continue for a further 12 months. The one issue all Members raised is cross-Border co-operation and the all-island aspect. All of that is certainly provided for on an ongoing basis.
The heads of the new Bill, known as the animal health Bill, are being prepared. That Bill will incorporate all of the suggestions which have been made. The debate on all Stages of that Bill will also give an opportunity for all of these matters to be teased out fully once again. What we are really doing today is extending this legislation for a further 12 months, but in the interim we will be introducing the new animal health Bill, which will cover all of the questions raised here.
Deputy Upton mentioned the other diseases. They are provided for under section 17A, but again will form part of any new Bill. When the legislation is drafted, we will then have an opportunity to tease out in full detail exactly where we are going in each case.
Deputy Ferris raised this issue of the powers of search of individuals, their premises and vehicles. Obviously that was introduced as an emergency power because of the foot and mouth disease crisis in 2001. Again it is contained in the Bill for a further 12 months. There have been quite a number of prosecutions, particularly in the Cooley Peninsula and the follow-on from that during the foot and mouth disease crisis. Those provisions must remain in place until all of these are finalised because obviously there are a number of cases pending. When the new Bill comes before the House, we will have an opportunity to deal with all of those individual issues.
Deputy Ó Fearghaíl asked a question about section 17A.
Were there any serious breaches of the regulations in the past 12 months?
No, not to my knowledge. We were still dealing with the residue from 2001 and the fall-out from the foot and mouth disease crisis at that stage. The important matter to note is that this legislation is in place for a further 12 months, but in the meantime we will be dealing comprehensively with every aspect of that Bill in the new legislation. I thank Members for their co-operation.