Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 311: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the reason her Department has a three-year restriction on the sale of cattle on the open market after being locked up and subsequently cleared of tuberculosis; the source of this regulation; her plans to review it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23046/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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As laid down in Annex A of Council Directive 64/432/EEC, as amended, the officially tuberculosis-free status of a herd is suspended when an inconclusive reactor animal is disclosed in the herd and remains suspended while the herd contains such animals of unresolved status. The directive provides a derogation which allows animals from such herds to be traded on the domestic market provided they had no confirmed reactor animals for at least three years and provided that no animals from the holding are allowed to enter into intra-Community trade until the status of any inconclusive reactors has been resolved. The directive also requires that if the presence of disease is subsequently confirmed, all animals leaving the holding since the time of the last clear herd test must be traced and tested.

The status of the inconclusive reactor(s) can be resolved by a further test after 42 days or by post mortem and laboratory examination. If this test is clear, the officially tuberculosis-free status can be restored and animals from the herd would again be eligible for intra-Community trade provided the other conditions for export are fulfilled. All member states are obliged to comply with the provisions of EU legislation.

There is considerable research data to indicate that herds which have experienced an outbreak of confirmed TB in the past are more likely to exhibit infection again in the succeeding number of years. This supports the advisability of the policy laid down in the directive.