John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

Last night my Government colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, outlined, in very clear terms, this Government's excellent record of actions to support the agri-food sector over the past few years. I will outline to the House the progress we have made in other areas which are important to the continued development of the sector.

A high health status in the national herd is important in the context of safeguarding consumers, the development of a sustainable agri-food sector and the promotion of animal welfare. Ireland's current relatively high animal health status, its traceability systems, its veterinary medicines regime and production systems all underpin food safety and farm output and are essential for our export trade. These measures reassure consumers and support the delivery of many of the EU livestock support schemes.

We have in place a combination of control measures, compulsory and voluntary testing, recording of data, inspections and investigations, mandatory and voluntary reporting, codes of practice and a committee on animal welfare. In line with our commitment under the Good Friday Agreement, and for other reasons, we maintain a close liaison with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland in the operation of schemes and in developing joint strategies on animal health.

With regard to animal health, excellent progress has been made in recent years in reducing the incidence of diseases of major economic importance. With regard to BSE, the number of cases has fallen from 333 in 2002 to 126 last year. More importantly, the majority of cases are now identified in cattle born in 1996 or earlier.

Excellent progress has also been made on TB and brucellosis. In the case of TB, reactor numbers have fallen consistently since 1999 and in 2004 were down by 50% on the numbers identified in both 1998 and 1999. Even greater progress has been made on brucellosis where in 2004, laboratory positive animals were down almost 90% on the 1998 figures.

With regard to animal traceability, we have comprehensive identification and tracing systems in place for all the main livestock species. These systems meet in full, and in certain cases go beyond, our obligations as a member state of the European Union.

The cattle movement monitoring system, CCMS, allows us as a matter of course to trace the origin, identity and movement history of Irish cattle before they enter the food chain. The extent and accuracy of data now available on CMMS allows it to be used for a variety of other applications also. It is routinely used to identify and trace cattle for disease control purposes, for example contact tracing for BSE and brucellosis. It is employed as a marketing tool for Ireland's beef export industry and is also used to assist in the testing and certification requirements of a variety of schemes such as certification of beef for Russia, determination of age for BSE testing etc.

The national sheep identification system, NSIS, is based on individual identification of sheep by means of ear tags and on paper records to track movements. Despite the criticism that has been levelled at it, overall the system has operated successfully since its introduction. It has also facilitated the development of a scrapie genotyping programme as well as being used to identify carcasses exported to other member states.

The Department also plays an important role in protecting the health of consumers of Irish food through legislation relating to the use of veterinary medicines and the detection of illegal residues in food, through the national residue plan.

As Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, I remind the House of the contribution that the forestry sector makes to the rural economy and the environment. Forestry, which provides employment to some 16,000 people, has a key role to play in ensuring the economic stability of rural communities, in enhancing our environment and natural amenities and in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

This Government is committed to the development of the forestry sector and this week I announced an allocation of a €124 million package for forestry in 2005. This is the biggest allocation ever made for forestry and is an affirmation of the Government's and the Minister's commitment to the sector.

As Members heard last night, the Government has an impressive record of achievements across a broad range of areas. It can be relied upon to remain totally committed to the agri-food sector and to sustain its major role in the country's economic development, notwithstanding the overall changed policy framework in which we now operate. I commend the motion to the House.

See this speech in context