Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she is taking to prevent an outbreak of avian flu here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33783/05]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the position regarding measures taken or proposed to protect against the spread of avian flu here, having regard not just to the threat to the avian population but also the dangers to humans; if additional measures are planned arising from the discovery of the virus in an imported bird in Britain; if her Department is responsible for co-ordinating the response to the avian flu threat; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34163/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 105 together.

My Department has been taking the threat of an outbreak of avian influenza very seriously. As the House will know, outbreaks of the H5N1 virus have been confirmed in eastern and central Europe since July 2005 but no outbreaks have been confirmed within the EU, other than the birds which died in quarantine in England.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK published a report this morning on the deaths in quarantine which has concluded that the birds infected with the H5N1 virus were all from Taiwan. It has now been confirmed that 53 birds, all of the mesia species, of the 101 imported died. A further four were dead on arrival. The report also confirms that there is no evidence of transmission from the mesias to any other species of bird, including the Surinamese parrot which had previously been reported as having died from the virus. All the other birds in the quarantine facility were humanely destroyed.

It now appears, from the statement issued today by Defra in the UK, that tissue from the Surinamese parrot was pooled with tissue from a Taiwanese mesia and it had not previously been possible to say whether the virus isolated had originated from the parrot, the mesia or both, though it had always been assumed that the birds from Taiwan were the source of infection. Today's report does nothing to change the UK's avian flu-free status and does not, at this time, impact on our contingency arrangements.

It is important to emphasise that avian flu is principally a disease of birds which occasionally infects animals, notably pigs. The virus rarely infects humans. My Department is responsible for taking measures to minimise the risk of introducing the virus into Ireland and, in the event of an outbreak, to ensure its early detection and speedy eradication. The Department of Health and Children is responsible for the public health aspects of a human flu pandemic. The two Departments, each with their own principal areas of responsibility, have been and are continuing to work very closely together at various levels. The issues have recently been considered by the Government and are now standing items on the agenda of the Government task force on emergency planning, chaired by my colleague, the Minister for Defence.

The confirmed outbreaks of the H5N1 virus in eastern and central Europe since the summer suggest the involvement of migratory wildbirds as vectors of the disease. In view of their potential involvement, there are obvious limitations on the measures which can be taken to ensure that the country stays avian flu free. Based on the patterns of confirmed outbreaks in eastern and central Europe, the immediate risk of the virus being introduced to Ireland through migrating wildbirds is considered to be low.

Nonetheless, there is a risk of the disease being introduced and I have, therefore, introduced a series of measures aimed at minimising that risk and my Department has been consistently reassessing the risk of a disease outbreak. That risk assessment has and will continue to inform our measured approach. It is important that our approach is proportionate and important too that we continue to review our contingency arrangements, taking full account of the most up-to-date scientific and veterinary advice to us.

At EU level, the Commission's standing committee on the food chain and animal health, SCoFCAH, has taken a number of decisions, all of which have since been provided for in Irish law through a series of statutory instruments. These include, inter alia, safeguard measures which ban the importation of poultry and certain specified poultry products into the EU, in respect of all countries affected by H5N1 other than Croatia, where the virus was found only in wildbirds.

Specifically, my Department has put in a place an early warning system, now an EU requirement, with the assistance of the national parks and wildlife service, the National Association of Regional Game Councils and BirdWatch Ireland. My Department is also a full participant in the annual EU avian influenza survey, through which samples are taken for analysis for evidence of an avian flu virus. In addition, samples from poultry sent to the Department's laboratories by private veterinary practitioners are routinely tested for avian flu.

My Department has also introduced a statutory register of all poultry flockowners and of other owners of birds which will be of great assistance in the event of an outbreak. Full details of this register were published in the national newspapers last week and my Department has written to 140,000 of its clients advising them of the registration requirements and arrangements. Furthermore, and in accordance with one of the European Commission decisions, we have introduced a ban on any gathering of poultry for exhibitions, markets and cultural events, other than under licence. A licensing regime has now been put in place that, at this stage, provides only for the licensing of caged bird shows and pigeon shows. The ban will be reviewed by the SCoFCAH before the end of November, though it may well be extended for a further period of time.

I am satisfied that the measures taken to date, both at EU and national levels, represent an entirely appropriate response to the current level of risk of the introduction of avian flu to Ireland. We have been reviewing and updating our contingency arrangements and are maintaining a vigilant approach. We will continue with our risk assessment approach and will not hesitate to introduce such additional precautionary measures as we consider necessary to deal with any increased level of risk, including any new confirmed cases within the EU.

We will also continue to work closely with all of our EU partners, particularly the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, with which we have a very close working relationship. We will, as a Department, also continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Department of Health and Children on the public health aspects, for which it has responsibility, and will continue to be active participants in that Department's influenza pandemic expert group.