Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 407: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the degree to which animal disease eradication in this country compares with other EU States; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24988/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department accords a high priority to maintaining Ireland's high status in relation to animal health and welfare in the context of protecting consumers and in view of the economic and social importance of agriculture to the country. It remains essential that we anticipate wherever possible and maintain the capability of dealing effectively with any threats in this area, from wherever they emerge. A comprehensive approach to these threats involves the following measures:

∙Continued operation of schemes to reduce and eventually eradicate diseases of significant importance such as TB and Brucellosis,

∙An intensive programme of measures to eradicate BSE,

∙Measures to deal with threats from or actual outbreaks of other diseases.

With regard to Bovine Tuberculosis, the Eradication Scheme, which complies fully with the relevant EU legislation, has been successful in reducing the level of this disease from 17% in the 50's to 0.4%. While efforts are continuing to achieve a sustained reduction below that level, further progress is constrained by the presence of a wildlife reservoir of infection. In this regard, my Department operates an active wildlife and research programme.

The incidence of Brucellosis has been falling progressively in recent years. For example, the number of laboratory positives has fallen from 6,417 in 1998 to 228 in 2005. The total number of animals slaughtered under the eradication programme fell from 29,778 to 2,375 during the same period. There has been a similar decline in the number of herds depopulated from 328 to 27 in 2005. This progress has been maintained into 2006.

I am confident that this progress can be maintained into the future and that the ultimate goal of eradication is now a realistic prospect. However, for this to be achieved, it is essential to retain for now all aspects of the existing programme.

In the case of BSE, my Department has adopted a pro-active approach to disease prevention and introduced controls on the feeding of meat and bone meal and the use of Specified Risk Materials before they became mandatory at EU level. Numbers of cases have fallen significantly.

There were 69 cases in 2005 compared with 126 in 2004 and 182 in 2003. To date in 2006, there have been 26 cases of BSE which represents a decrease of 28 per cent on the number of cases in the same period in 2005. It is anticipated that the incidence of disease will continue to decline as cows born prior to 1998 leave the system.

The second round of the National Aujeszky's Disease Control and Eradication Programme is underway since September 2005. This involves blood testing of breeding pigs on all holdings nation-wide, together with a substantial factory testing regime. No new cases of Aujeszky's disease in the Irish pig herd have been identified thus far and the low number of positive holdings previously identified are being steadily reduced through compulsory vaccination and/or depopulation. The official status of the Member States is detailed in Commission Decision 2004/320/EC.

With regard to other diseases, while Ireland is free of many exotic diseases, contingency plans have been prepared in relation to major diseases such as Classical Swine Fever, Newcastle Disease, Avian Influenza and Foot and Mouth Disease. As the Deputy will recall, decisive action taken by my Department during the Foot and Mouth Disease crisis in 2001 kept the number of cases to just one and permitted Ireland to regain its FMD Free status in a relatively short space of time.

Many of the measures introduced during that time, such as the strong legislative base for disease control introduced in the Disease of Animals (Amendment) Act, 2001, new rules in relation to the registration and control of dealers, a National System for the Identification and Traceability of sheep and goats, and the application of full intra community rules on veterinary health certification of live animals imported from Northern Ireland, remain in place today. Further developments since that time include a National Pig Identification and Traceability system and a comprehensive Aujeszky's Disease Programme.

My Department will continue to implement measures in conformity with EU and international requirements and to promote best practice in relation to animal health and welfare in Ireland and in Europe, in a manner, which protects consumers in the first instance and Ireland's critically important agri-food sector. Implementation of measures here and in other Member States is reviewed on an on-going basis by the EU's Food and Veterinary Office.