Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is important to clarify at the outset that my Department only permits animals to be transported in compliance with the EU's animal welfare legislation, which is among the most progressive legal frameworks in the world. Furthermore, Ireland has national rules to protect the welfare of livestock being exported to third countries on ships, which lay down controls that are more stringent than EU rules and which have been held up as an example by the European Commission to other member states. We support the safe export of live animals as it helps to offer an important market competition outlet for farmers. Nevertheless, we work from a perspective of constant improvement, and my officials have been exploring all possible options which would allow us to increase the veterinary presence on live export consignments, including the potential for national legislation.

We are currently examining the possibility of increasing the number of consignments which are accompanied on the voyage by an official veterinarian with a particular expertise in the transport of animals by sea. To this end, training of official veterinarians new to this area is taking place in early June to increase the pool of expert veterinarians available to accompany these consignments.

Over the past three years, my Department has actively contributed to developing new EU rules on welfare on ships exporting livestock, which are being introduced by the Commission in 2023. Among other improvements, these rules require that an official veterinarian travel on board the first voyage with livestock to a third country after a ship approval inspection. Ireland has operated a similar measure based on its own national rules for a number of years, and it will now operate throughout the EU.

Department officials and inspectors monitor compliance more generally through a system of official controls, including advance checks of paperwork and veterinary checks of the livestock vessel and of all animals before they travel. A Department official veterinarian boards the vessel before and after loading and is also present during the loading process to ensure the highest standards of welfare are maintained.

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