Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 284: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will report on the mechanisms available to a breeder to import pedigree dairy goats from the UK when the ferry companies servicing the Irish Sea refuse to transport the animals; if this breaches EU Common Market regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6575/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The movement of livestock between member states of the European Union is governed, inter alia, by Council Directive 91/628/EEC. This directive obliges member states to ensure that livestock are not transported in a manner that would compromise their health or welfare. My Department, over a period, has introduced comprehensive national legislation to ensure that this requirement is respected in relation to transport of animals from Ireland. The question of whether a ferry company is approved to transport animals from another member state into this country is a matter for the competent authority in the member state of origin to address. There is no legal obligation on ferry operators to carry livestock.