Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Funchion for her question. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was involved with other public sector bodies in an investigation of animal health and environmental concerns on the farm of the person to whom the Deputy has referred and has provided details.

I am aware of the case of the person the Deputy has referred to and I understand the burden the situation has placed on him. This inter-agency group, IAG, was convened in June 2004 and comprised my Department’s laboratories, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as Teagasc, the Health Services Executive and Kilkenny County Council.

Two separate investigations and a review were undertaken.

The first of the investigations was led by my Department's veterinary laboratory service, VLS. Extensive field and laboratory investigations were undertaken on the farm. Laboratory results were provided to the herdowner on an ongoing basis and supports for a comprehensive herd health programme were also provided.  On the conclusion of the VLS investigations and as part of the IAG, the VLS reported its findings in June 2006. This report was provided to the herdowner and his advisers at that time.

Subsequently, and on foot of a request by the herdowner and his advisers, University College Dublin’s Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, CVERA, was commissioned to conduct further epidemiological studies of problems on the farm. That report was completed in August 2009.  This was provided to the herdowner and his advisers. 

The inter-agency group reviewed the findings of both investigations and published its final report in August 2010. This was also provided to the herdowner and his advisers. 

Both investigation reports and the report of the inter-agency group review referred to above detail all of the comprehensive studies of animal health and environmental health parameters undertaken on this farm and the interpretation of those findings by experts from the agencies involved.

These reports have been in the public domain since the conclusion of the investigative process and remain available for review by anyone who wishes to access them.

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