Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, for attending. I also thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very important matter. I do so both as a spokesperson on health and children and as a Deputy representing Cavan-Monaghan, a constituency where the poultry industry is one of the cornerstones of the local economy. Hundreds of people are employed in the industry, which has thriving businesses in a region which has not benefited from industrial development to the extent experienced in the east and south. For that reason, any damage to this vital sector would be catastrophic for the region.

The confirmation of the outbreak of the H5N1 virus among poultry on the Bernard Matthews plant in Suffolk, England is a cause of very grave concern. This is the strain that when contracted by human beings can prove fatal. The first confirmation of such an outbreak in Britain brings the danger right to our doorstep and it requires the most vigorous response from the Government. I believe more stringent precautionary measures are needed in the face of this threat.

The decision of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, to ban imports of birds from Britain for shows and gatherings is not enough. Four states — Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and South Korea — have already banned all poultry imports from Britain. While I note the European Commission has today criticised this move, it nonetheless underlines the seriousness with which this threat is viewed. In that context, the Minister should not limit her reaction to the extent that she has already announced.

Our priority must be to safeguard human health and the poultry industry on the island of Ireland. For that reason, the import of all poultry and poultry products from Britain to any part of Ireland, north or south of the Border, should be stopped until the all-clear is given. This will be objected to on the grounds that it is excessive and would damage trade. However, such a short-term — I emphasise it would be short-term — disruption to trade would be negligible if it helped to ensure this virus did not spread to Ireland, devastating the poultry industry and posing a real threat to human health.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Britain has been unable to confirm whether eggs may have been imported to the infected Bernard Matthews plant in Britain from its plant in Hungary, where there was another outbreak of H5N1 last month. One of the possible ways in which birds at the Bernard Matthews plant were infected was if one of the eggs in the hatchery was already infected from its mother, perhaps because hatching eggs were imported. The British Health Secretary, Ms Patricia Hewitt MP, has said that while the risk to human health is remote, the British Government is preparing "very, very seriously and thoroughly for the possibility of a pandemic flu". Should we prepare any less? The United Nations co-ordinator for human influenza and avian flu, David Nabarro, has highlighted the high number of cases of the disease throughout the world at present. He stated that everybody needs to be anxious about the situation.

All of this emphasises the need for more stringent measures here. I respectfully urge the Minister to immediately review and revisit her approach and to return with a revised programme of more strict precautions in order to protect human health and the very important poultry industry.

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