Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for allowing me the opportunity to give the response of my Department to the confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk. As the House will be aware, this case was confirmed on Saturday morning last, by which time the management committee of my Department's National Disease Control Centre, NDCC, had met. One of the key lessons learned, following confirmation of a case of avian flu in a swan last April in Scotland, was the need to assess the level of risk posed before taking any action and then to respond accordingly and, most importantly, appropriately.

On Saturday last my officials concluded that the very fact of a case in England increased the risk to Ireland but also concluded this was precisely the type of event our contingency arrangements would have anticipated and were designed to cater for. On that basis, I was satisfied as to the adequacy of the measures in place and concluded that no immediate further measures were necessary other than to place our veterinary and laboratory staff on a higher state of readiness and to ensure the Department's helpline was sufficiently staffed.

The situation was kept under constant review over the weekend and I was in constant contact with my officials, who were themselves in contact with colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, in London, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, DARD, in Belfast and the European Commission in Brussels. I did not consider that additional measures were merited over the weekend.

On Monday morning, DEFRA introduced a ban on shows and bird gatherings in Britain. After the situation had been reviewed by the NDCC management committee and officials had consulted with colleagues in DARD in Belfast, I took the decision to ban the importation of birds from Britain for shows and gatherings in Ireland. The Northern Ireland authorities introduced an identical ban and, in maintaining the all-island approach to this issue, neither ban extended to the movement of birds on the island of Ireland and shows and bird gatherings continue to be permitted on both sides of the Border.

This measure is a natural extension to what DEFRA has done and is entirely proportional to the increased risk posed by the case in Suffolk. At no time was a ban on the importation of poultry or poultry products contemplated. Such a measure would have been entirely disproportionate and, under Community law, illegal. Contrary to the Deputy's suggestion, the British Government is not imposing any such ban.

It is important to understand what happens when a case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu is confirmed. A 3 km protection zone and a 10 km zone are put in place and where considered necessary a further restricted zone can be applied. In this case, the UK authorities did so, comprising an area of some 2,000 sq. km. Trade of poultry and poultry products from these areas is restricted. The idea of a further restricted zone is to act as a buffer between the affected areas and the rest of the country and to facilitate trade from the rest of the country.

Trade in poultry and poultry products is governed by EU Single Market rules. Specific measures on avian flu were transposed into Irish law last year, providing for regional restrictions where an outbreak occurs. I am entirely satisfied that the measures put in place in England will fulfil their purpose and I am satisfied also that the rest of Britain should be allowed to trade freely. In the unfortunate event that we were to be affected by avian flu, such a regional approach would be of great value to the Irish poultry industry with which the Deputy is more than familiar.

I share the view expressed by Commissioner Kyprianou that restrictions to trade should affect regions or areas and not whole countries as an entity. My officials have been maintaining close daily contact with colleagues in London and Belfast since the outbreak was confirmed and, this morning, officials attended a meeting in Brussels at which UK officials made a presentation on the outbreak. Tomorrow the issue will be further considered at a meeting of chief veterinary officers in Brussels.

Earlier today, I spoke to the Secretary of State, David Miliband MP, and wished him well in his stated aim of stamping out the disease, protecting public health, protecting animal health and welfare and regaining the UK's disease-free status. I also reiterated the value of the close contacts between our respective Departments and emphasised the need to maintain constant and immediate contact between us.

Based on the information available to me and my Department, I share the assessment of the European Commission spokesman yesterday that the UK measures are in place and are working well. Given the manner in which DEFRA appears to have responded to the outbreak and the manner which, to date, it appears to have been contained, I am of the view that additional protective measures are not warranted at this time. The situation will continue to be kept under constant review and should circumstances change such that additional measures would be appropriate, I will not hesitate to introduce such measures.

Earlier this afternoon, the avian influenza expert group, which I established under the chairmanship of Professor Michael Monaghan last year, met to review events since the weekend and, in particular, to assess the response of my Department. It was the group's conclusion that the steps we have taken are entirely appropriate.

I am particularly anxious to maintain an all-island approach to this issue. It has worked very well over the past 18 months or so and the manner in which the two Departments, North and South of the Border, announced similar measures virtually simultaneously yesterday is clear evidence of the close working relationship between the Departments. The commitment of DARD to working together with my Department to minimise the risk to the island of Ireland is recognition of the value of an all-island approach.

Deputy Ó Caoláin referred to the threat to human health. There is little or no human health aspect associated with this outbreak and it has little or no human implications for this country. There are no recorded cases of workers in the poultry industry contracting avian flu and, as the Deputy well knows, there are no dangers associated with consuming properly cooked poultry meat, a point emphasised time and again by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Safefood, the European Food Safety Authority, the Food Standards Authority in the UK, etc.

I wish to comment briefly on suggestions in the media and from Members of the House that there is an inevitability about Ireland being affected by avian flu. Let me be clear, there is no such inevitability. Of course, there is a possibility and as the most likely source of introduction is through migrating wild birds, the Department and I are limited in what we can do to prevent such a possibility. Our focus, therefore, is on ensuring that all the necessary means are in place to ensure the early detection of any case or outbreak, the efficient control and management of such a case and the speedy eradication of the disease and the restoration of the country's disease-free status.