Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue of funding for local authority veterinary services. As I said, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, have been engaging for some time on the official food controls carried out by the local authority veterinary service under service contracts with the FSAI. It is accepted that the service model required review and the FSAI and CCMA, on behalf of the local authorities, have been in discussion over a new model to reform the service.

The FSAI has provided an increase in funding for 2020 and notwithstanding the work that is to be done to address the current service model's inefficiencies, it has offered further additional funding to the CCMA in respect of 2021, subject to a number of conditions.

On 28 October 2020, the CCMA agreed to the FSAI's offer of additional funding and associated conditions. The FSAI will now send contracts to the local authorities with a view to having them in place by 1 December. It is important to emphasise again that the current service model requires improvement and the FSAI needs to assure itself that the service and funding levels are appropriate and that the service provides value for money and fulfils EU obligations in an appropriate manner.

I welcome the fact that there has been positive engagement with the CCMA regarding the extension of the current service contracts and I am confident that the FSAI and the CCMA will work constructively together to ensure that a new service contract model is developed in 2021.

Deputy Martin Kenny has rightly outlined the wide range of services that are provided. I hope that when level 5 lockdown ends in the next few weeks, the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Kenny and I can find a locally-sourced turkey and share it for a dinner shortly before Christmas, perhaps with some other accoutrements.

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