Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

Senator Ó Brolcháin mentioned the appointment of staff as authorised persons by local authority members. I do not think members of local authorities have appointed any staff to local authorities since the time of rate collectors, or at least since the time of sheep dipping committees when sheep dipping inspectors were appointed.

Section 16(2) mentions "[a] body with which a local authority has entered into an arrangement under section 15(3) of the Act of 1986". How does the Minister see this working? Will the people appointed be full-time members of local authorities, or will they be appointed on an agency basis? The Minister said when he was here that this would be self-financing in view of the extra fees that would be charged, including two fees charged to the Irish Greyhound Board along with two inspections. Does the Minister see these authorised persons being appointed on a part-time basis, or will they be full-time employees? Who will they be reporting to? Will they report to the chief veterinary officer of the local authority? This is an important point.

The Minister mentioned some agencies from which people could be appointed, such as the ISPCA. Could the Irish Greyhound Board or the coursing clubs, for example, propose people for appointment as inspectors? Senators Coffey, O'Reilly and others mentioned an important point with regard to the independence of the inspectors. All local authorities currently use their own staff, such as veterinary officers, to inspect abattoirs and so on. These people are truly independent and they should be the ones who conduct inspections. I cannot go along with the appointment of inspectors from vested interests by the local authority, whether on a full-time or part-time basis. The regulations accompanying this section should state that the full-time staff of the local authority from the veterinary section will be the authorised persons to carry out such inspections on farms.

This is important in view of what could happen further down the road. The greyhound industry in particular represents off-farm income for many farmers. There is an issue with regard to the spread of animal diseases among pigs, poultry and other farm enterprises. Diseases such as brucellosis could be carried from farm to farm. It is important the chief veterinary officer of the local authority is really in charge and that the people employed as inspectors are full-time employees of the local authority. No representatives of vested interests, whether from the ISPCA or the greyhound or coursing industries, should be carrying out inspections. The veterinary officers in my local authority area, whose work I have observed over a long period, have always been truly independent. That is the way it should be.