Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Some months ago, the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response met in this room and I asked a question about zoonosis. We are learning about this day by day. At the time, the possibility that there was a zoonosis or reverse zoonosis risk was dismissed. We have since seen the mink population culled in Denmark and there are articles today suggesting there is a worldwide possibility of a second zoonotic event. Zoonosis was a term I last encountered in leaving certificate geography. I thought I would never use it again. It refers to diseases being transmitted from animals to humans and, in reverse zoonosis, back again.

We are on a push to have most people in Ireland vaccinated and a nationwide vaccine roll-out. There has been little mention throughout the pandemic of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, herds of livestock or domestic pets. We have seen cases in other countries of domestic pets carrying Covid. Are we sufficiently prepared on that front? We are looking at the human population for the vaccination programme. If there is the risk of a second zoonotic event worldwide, are we in any way equipped to deal with it? Have we had enough dialogue about the risk of livestock and domestic animals carrying Covid into a home? It was not an issue in March and April but scientific evidence worldwide in recent weeks has proven it is an issue. I ask the witnesses to comment.