Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the representatives from Veterinary Ireland here today. I thank the witnesses for taking the time to come before us and for their presentation. I am interested in their perspective on Professor More's commentary and any thoughts they might have on it in terms of the efficacy of the current eradication programme and the risk-based approach which he believes is required. He suggests it was the primary reason for the success in Australia and New Zealand. Such an approach would give rise to grave concern. The movement element of it would give rise to great concern among the farming community. I put a question to Professor More on the 30-day pre-movement test. What are the views of the witnesses on the benefits or otherwise of that?

Last year we discussed the ownership of veterinary practices and the deregulation of ownership. I would welcome an update on the experience in the past year of how that is unfolding. We discussed Veterinary Ireland's concerns in that regard, which are well grounded. This is an issue in which the committee has taken an interest.

Reference was made in the presentation to the fact that approximately 600 members of the veterinary profession are employed by the Department on a part-time basis in the inspection services for meat exports. In recent days the Department has issued a call for private veterinary inspectors to indicate their interest in carrying out inspection roles at airports and ports in the event of a hard Brexit. Has the Department had any consultation with Veterinary Ireland in advance of making that call? Last summer the Department had indicated its intention to employ 300 veterinary inspectors within the Department to meet its requirements and be prepared for a hard Brexit. It later downgraded the number to 116 veterinary inspectors. As far as I understand, currently, the Department has no contingency in place in terms of in-house staff. I would be interested in the perspective of the witnesses in terms of the demands on veterinary practices. It is already a stretched profession. Do the witnesses feel there is sufficient capacity within the private sector? In the next week or two we hope that Brexit will, at a minimum, be delayed but in the event of a hard Brexit, do they believe there is capacity to meet the Department's recent call for tenders?