Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Ireland's high animal and plant health status underpins food safety and is central to the viability of our agriculture industry and our ability to trade. To this end, the Department of Agriculture and Food applies comprehensive control systems to the threats posed by pests and disease to both animal and plant health and, as a consequence, to human health. Sustained programmes are operated, aimed at the continued reduction and eventual eradication of diseases such as TB, brucellosis, BSE and scrapie in the national herd and flock. In a further step to the maintenance of high standards of food production, the Department has introduced a system of identification and traceability for bovine, ovine, porcine and caprine animals.

The Department plays a vital role in regulating the plant health sector to prevent the import of harmful pests and diseases, the prevention of contaminants and the overall maintenance of high standards of quality which contribute to safer food. The range of biosecurity controls applied by the Department are underpinned by EU regulations and are subject to regular audit by the European Commission's food and veterinary office. It is essential that we are, at all times, vigilant and continue to reassess and, where necessary, improve our capability of dealing effectively with threats posed by pests or disease. In this regard, it is worth pointing to the recent updating and reissuing of biosecurity advice to poultry flock owners in an effort to minimise the risk of the introduction of avian flu.

The retention of high biosecurity standards is vital for the maintenance of high standards of public health and animal health as well as ensuring we continue to have an effective base from which to further develop a successful agrifood sector. The production of safe food and the maintenance of public confidence must be underpinned by effective control systems. Maintaining a high standard of animal health and welfare is an important issue and is a critical requirement for the development of trade.

Ireland enjoys a high plant health status, supported through a programme of controls and inspections. Before any plant protection product can be sold to a grower, it must conform to rigid standards which meet EU and Irish legislation. Furthermore, the Department's annual pesticide residue monitoring involves the analysis of fruit, vegetables, cereals and other food, including meat, milk and other dairy products.

In our approach to this issue, we must take full account of evolving EU legislation and work closely with the European Commission and our EU partners in responding to any crisis.

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I am conscious that the threat posed by pests or diseases could result in substantial economic damage, not alone in agriculture but across a number of sectors, with attendant social consequences throughout the country and for the environment. The New Zealand model involved the establishment, by its Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, of a biosecurity strategic unit, with people drawn from four existing biosecurity agencies and reports directly to the ministry's director general. I am satisfied that the arrangements within the Department of Agriculture and Food for the development and implementation of biosecurity policies are sufficiently comprehensive and robust to deal with the threats posed by pests or disease.

The Department has detailed contingency plans in place for the handling of outbreaks of class A OIE diseases. The plans are the product of indepth review by the Department, with the involvement of other relevant agencies. These plans have stood us well in the past, most recently in regard to the outbreak of FMD but also with previous outbreaks of Newcastle disease in 1997 and the last outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza in 1998.

While my Department will always play the lead role, we, of course, welcome the constructive and significant contributions that other Departments and agencies have to make. We are, all the time, ready to reassess the adequacy of our existing biosecurity advice and, based on any new and emerging information, to revise any biosecurity arrangements, as appropriate.

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