Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps she is taking to stop the illegal import of exotic birds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18764/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The only circumstances in which exotic birds may be legally imported from Third Countries is as pet birds accompanying their owners who are permanently changing their residence. This is an EU-wide provision and relates only to importations of individual consignments of five or fewer birds. The conditions under which such importations are permitted are very stringent and include quarantine, vaccination or testing for avian influenza. An EU-wide ban is in place in relation to all other captive birds from Third Countries.

Intra-community trade in exotic birds is permitted under EU rules, which do not include a quarantine requirement. Such consignments must comply with the requirements of a General Authorisation issued under the European Communities (Diseases of Animals Acts, 1966 and 1979 Orders) (General Authorisations for Imports) Regulations 1985, the conditions attaching to which require that the birds must:

∙come from a holding which has been registered for export by the competent authority of the country of origin in accordance with Article 4 of Council Directive 92/65/EEC;

∙come from a holding in which Avian Influenza has not been diagnosed in the 30 days preceding the dispatch;

∙come from a holding and an area not subject to restrictions under Council Directive 92/66/EEC introducing Community measures for the control of Newcastle Disease;

∙be accompanied by a declaration to this effect completed and signed by the owner of the hobby birds on the day of movement;

∙in the case of psittacidae, be accompanied by a certificate signed by an official veterinarian of the country of export.

In addition to these requirements, advance notice is required to be given to my Department not less than 24 hours prior to the intended date of importation and for animal disease control measures, an official notification of the consignment (TRACES) is dispatched from the District Veterinary Office of the country of origin to the District Veterinary Office of the country of destination.

While my Department does undertake inspections at points of import, it must be noted that the Department is precluded, by EU rules, from inspecting all import consignments; rather a spot-check regime is in place based on risk assessment for disease purposes.

In the context of avian influenza, my Department has introduced a robust range of precautionary measures and fully implements all EU controls, including those relating to the importation of exotic birds. It should be noted that imports of pet birds from within the EU represent a low risk to Ireland's health status; the avian 'flu virus being more prevalent in wild birds whose entry cannot be controlled or certified.