Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps already taken and which have yet to be taken to prepare Ireland for the implementation from February 2008 of rules requiring every laying flock to be subject to a regime of private and official testing to ascertain salmonella status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40533/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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A national programme setting out the detailed arrangements for operating the new regime in Ireland is being prepared and will be sent to the EU Commission before the end of this year. This should be approved by the Commission in mid 2007. National legislation to give effect to the programme will be required towards the end of 2007. It is intended to write to every egg producer in late spring 2007 to inform them about the new regime and what it will mean for them in terms of additional testing and record keeping.

In July of this year my Department wrote to the Irish Egg Association and the Irish Farmers' Association to advise them of the main provisions of the new testing regime. This subject was also discussed at a meeting with the Irish Egg Association in August. Internal discussions have taken place within the Department on the question of what resources will be deployed to conduct the official sampling regime.

As a large proportion of eggs are sold under the Bord Bia Egg Quality Assurance Scheme, a committee convened by Bord Bia will be examining how the new requirements will fit with the Scheme and vice versa and will consider whether any adaptations to the Scheme are appropriate.

Every egg producer is already registered, which will greatly facilitate the implementation of the new requirements, and resources are available in my Department to conduct the required level of official monitoring and testing.