Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both Deputies for withdrawing their question yesterday and resubmitting it today, because I was in Luxembourg yesterday and was unable to deal with it but I wanted to deal with it personally. I also thank Opposition spokespersons and Deputy O'Dowd for their patience and sensible comments on this issue and for not trying to gain political advantage from it, which would have been counterproductive and unnecessary.

As the House is aware, a cow on a farm in County Louth has tested positive for BSE. I emphasise that the animal was not presented for slaughter and did not enter the food chain. The case was identified through the ongoing surveillance system of the Department. This surveillance system is part of the overall control systems in place to protect the food and feed chain. On the basis of the assessment of these controls and their application by Ireland over a number of years, the OIE, the world animal health organisation, with the agreement of the member country delegates at the general assembly in May 2008, awarded Ireland the category of "controlled risk" for BSE in accordance with Article 11.5.4 of the OIE terrestrial animal health code. These controls have been systematically and rigorously applied over the years.

A series of confirmatory tests are now being undertaken and the final results will be available shortly. If confirmed, this will be the first BSE case found in Ireland since 2013. Prior to that, we had three cases in 2012, three in 2011 and two in 2010. Ireland's BSE surveillance and controls are effective and consistent with legal requirements and best international practice. The identification of this case is proof of that, and this is further evidenced by the dramatic reduction in the prevalence of BSE, from a peak of 333 cases in 2002. While it is disappointing to identify this case now, it is not wholly unexpected that an occasional case of BSE could arise.

In May of this year, Ireland was recognised by the general delegates of the OIE as a country posing a "negligible risk" for BSE in accordance with the 2015 terrestrial animal health code. A country can be recognised as posing a "negligible" BSE risk when, in addition to the continued application of a range of controls, similar to those mentioned earlier, every indigenous case identified was born more than 11 years ago. Unfortunately, should the current case be confirmed as being the classic type of BSE, Ireland would no longer fulfil the requirements of the terrestrial code for "negligible risk status" for BSE. It is likely therefore that Ireland may revert to "controlled risk status" for a further number of years, with the current range of existing controls remaining in place.

The OIE has this week stated that it very much respects the integrity and transparency demonstrated by Ireland in providing preliminary information on this suspect case. It further commends the commitment to the protection of animal and human health as demonstrated by the effectiveness of the ongoing BSE surveillance programme and the controls in place that prevented any part of the animal from entering the human food or animal feed chain.

In accordance with normal procedure, cases of BSE are subject to a full epidemiological investigation. The investigation of this particular case is now under way. While it is recognised that atypical types of BSE may arise sporadically from time to time, in the case of classical type BSE, the risk period for infection is now accepted to be in the first months of life. As the animal in question here was born in 2010, a large part of the epidemiological investigation is focused on events of five to six years ago and may take some time to complete.

The birth cohort, animals born and reared in the herd of birth, around the same time as the positive animal and progeny of the infected animal have been traced and will be removed from the food chain and tested as a precaution.

As a country which exports more than 90% of the beef we produce, we know that our reputation as a producer of safe sustainable beef is paramount and our regulatory and food safety systems are there to provide those assurances. The discovery of this BSE case is evidence of the effectiveness of the controls and surveillance system we have in place and those controls were a key factor in securing market access for Irish beef in many of the new markets in recent years.

As I said last week and the previous week, I have full confidence in our systems. Irish beef is the safest and most sustainable beef in the world and it continues to be, despite the case last week. I look forward to giving further details on the investigation to Deputies who seek it, when it is complete.

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