Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has had recent discussions with the European counterparts with regard to avian flu protection in the event of an outbreak; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13035/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply of 22 February 2006 on the matter of avian influenza.

Avian flu has not recently been on the agenda of the General Affairs and External Relations Council but will be addressed as the situation requires. It is discussed regularly at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which has primary responsibility in this regard and which met most recently on 20 March. The issue is receiving constant attention at official level at meetings of the chief veterinary officers and at the standing committee on the food chain and animal health. The chief veterinary officers are meeting in Brussels this week and the standing committee discussed the issue on 23 and 24 March. The H5N1 virus has been confirmed in 11 member states of the EU to date. In all but two of the member states concerned, it remains confined to the wild bird population. In France, however, an outbreak in poultry has been confirmed and in Sweden an outbreak has been confirmed on a game farm.

In view of the role played by wild birds in spreading the virus, the focus of the Department of Agriculture and Food is on early detection, minimising the risk of any subsequent transmission to the commercial poultry flock and, in the event of such a transmission, the rapid removal of the infected flock and the efficient management of any outbreak. The Commission has moved swiftly to apply safeguard measures to all affected countries. It has also adopted a number of decisions, three of which have been transposed into Irish law within the past month. These deal with precautionary measures and steps that will be put in place in response to an outbreak. The Minister for Agriculture and Food is continuing to review and refine our own contingency arrangements. In response to the increased risk, the Minister has established an avian flu expert advisory group to advise on various control measures that may be put in place. The Minister for Agriculture and Food has regularly briefed the Government on developments. The Government task force on emergency planning, chaired by the Minister for Defence and on which my Department is represented, has been briefed regularly on the situation.

Last month, the Minister met her French counterpart in Dublin and took the opportunity to review the current situation regarding avian influenza in Europe. This meeting was particularly opportune in light of the recent outbreak in France. The Tánaiste attended an informal ministerial meeting on the health aspects of avian influenza which took place in Vienna on 24 February 2006. Health Ministers agreed on the need for rapid co-ordinated action within the European Union to combat the avian influenza virus. They emphasised that while infection of humans by the H5N1 virus since its appearance in Asia has been minimal, this virus is a source of continuing concern which demands ongoing vigilance.

The Government is conscious of the cross-Border dimension of this issue, which I discussed with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. Hain, at our recent meeting. Officials from the relevant Departments, North and South, are in regular contact on a wide range of avian influenza related issues. These contacts are being maintained at both formal and informal levels. This is a good example of the type of practical North-South co-operation that makes sense for everyone on the island.