Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 May 2012
33 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the high number of cases of TB recently reported in the Six Counties, the steps he has taken to increase prevention measures in the 26 counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23345/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware that there was a significant increase in the incidence of Bovine TB in Northern Ireland last year in contrast to a 10% reduction in the South, with the result that herd incidence of TB in Northern Ireland in 2011 was over 40% higher than here.
There has been a substantial improvement in the Bovine TB situation here over the past decade and we now seem to be getting on top of this most intractable disease. The number of reactors has declined from 40,000 to 18,500 during the period 2000 to 2011. This is the lowest recorded since the commencement of the eradication programme in the 1950s and improves on the record low recorded in 2010. I believe that these trends provide concrete evidence of the effectiveness of the programme and demonstrate that eradication is now a practicable proposition over the coming years. However for that to become a reality, it is necessary to continually improve the programme in order to address all potential sources of infection including from neighbouring herds and the movement of high risk animals and to ensure that testing is conducted in a timely manner. With this in mind, my Department introduced a number of changes into the TB programme earlier this year to tighten up on overdue testing and, in particular, to prevent the spread of disease from infected herds to clear herds.
I should point out, however, that imports of cattle from Northern Ireland are subject to the provisions of EU Directive 64/432/EEC which regulates trade in cattle between Member States. This Directive provides that cattle exported from regions such as Northern Ireland where the incidence of TB is greater than 1% must pass a test for bovine TB 30 days prior to export. I am satisfied that this control is implemented effectively in Northern Ireland and that the risk of importing diseased animals from Northern Ireland is limited. However, while the changes to our eradication programme, which I mentioned above, are aimed primarily at herdowners on this side of the Border, the tightening up on overdue tests will help to identify any TB infected cattle imported from Northern Ireland at an early date and prevent it spreading to other clear herds.
As part of the North/South animal health policy, my Department has a reciprocal arrangement with the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland such that, when TB is diagnosed in a herd subsequent to export of animals from that herd or indeed other animals with an epidemiological link to an infected herd, the importing jurisdiction is notified by the exporting jurisdiction of the risk and given a list of the relevant animal IDs and the export details. When my Department receives such a notification from Northern Ireland, it determines if the animal is still alive and has been tested here since import. If it is still alive and not been tested, it is tested here.
In view of the foregoing, I am satisfied that the existing controls on imports of cattle from Northern Ireland are effective.
