Feargal Quinn (Independent)

On Monday afternoon two truckloads of TB-infected cattle were stolen in Keady and on the Castleblayney Road, just a few hundred metres inside the Border in Northern Ireland. They were to be taken to a designated meat plant for destruction by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. I mention this because it reminds us of what occurred last year in the pig industry. This problem could devastate us. We have been fighting a great battle for many years to eradicate the blight of TB in cattle. Just when we hoped we were getting somewhere, we discovered the cattle stolen at two locations in Northern Ireland, in a very professional manner, were likely to end up on farms south of the Border. This warrants considerable publicity. It is not enough to notify the meat plants in order that they will be aware of the problem because the issue requires very heavy and strong publicity to ensure no farmer will be tempted to buy the cattle.

Yesterday I raised the question of life expectancy because I was stunned by the figures I had seen. I have since learned more. The figures suggest we in the West, in Ireland, for example, have a life expectancy far beyond that of people in Africa. Pneumococcal disease is preventable and money has been allocated for this purpose, yet two million children under the age of five years die each year from it in the developing world. There are vaccines available and they are being used in the western world. A startling figure which puts numbers into perspective is that for each child who dies from pneumonia in an industrialised country, more than 2,000 children die from it in developing countries. We have solved the problem in the western world but have not told the developing world what to do about it. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether Irish Aid is drawing attention to the fact that the disease can be prevented? It should be impressed upon him that Ireland should play its part - it is only a little part and does not require money. My attention has been drawn to the fact that €1.5 billion is required to develop a sustainable supply of the vaccines required. Of the 71 countries eligible to receive them, only 20 have applied to use them. It is a question of publicity; this is what the Minister could be doing through Irish Aid.