Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the avian flu, it is a distressing situation for the affected farmers, particularly given the time of year. There is a farm in County Monaghan that has had a case in a commercial flock. Where there is highly pathogenic avian influenza, a compensation package is in place that requires a full cull of the flock concerned. Steps have also been taken to put in place restriction and monitoring zones around the farm in question. Nationally, I introduced a regulatory instrument requiring the housing of all commercial flocks for the coming weeks. It is the riskiest time of year in terms of highly pathogenic avian influenza. We have had a number of individual instances in the wild bird community across the community, so the risk is high. We had an incident in a flock in the middle of the country around this time last year as well. This situation is something that all flock owners are taking seriously. The Department is also taking it seriously in respect of the precautionary measures that are being put in place and the monitoring mechanisms being employed by it, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the likes of BirdWatch Ireland.

I have had significant ongoing engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, on the peat matter. I will not pre-empt what is in the report, which it will outline for itself. We have come at it from the point of view of trying to find a solution to this issue. It does not make sense for us to import peat into Ireland. The situation has arisen because the issue was not addressed in a timely fashion, in that many of our commercial extraction bogs were operating without the necessary licences and permissions and the necessary infrastructure was not in place to facilitate that happening. I believe the report will be important in that regard and I will continue to liaise with the Minister of State on trying to get a solution.