Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the progress made to combat incidents of BSE and brucellosis in the livestock industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40258/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Following is the information requested by the Deputy.

BSE

The incidence of BSE in Ireland has been declining steadily from a high of 333 cases in 2002 to 182 in 2003, 126 in 2004 and 69 last year. So far this year, 36 cases been confirmed, thus indicating that the downward trend of the past number of years is continuing. In addition, the age profile of cases is increasing with most of the cases now in animals aged 10 years or older. I am confident that the very steady improvement of the past four years will be maintained and that the incidence of BSE will fall further in the coming years reflecting the comprehensive and effective nature of the range of control measures currently in place.

Brucellosis

The incidence of Brucellosis has also been falling progressively in recent years. For example, the number of laboratory positives fell 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 with so far only 2 depopulations recorded so far this year.

The substantial improvement in the Brucellosis situation is due to a number of factors, including continued co-operation from all parties with the eradication regime, the tightening up on illegal cattle movements through the Cattle Movement Monitoring System, the regulation of dealers, prosecutions for breaches and the imposition of penalties for failures to comply with animal disease and identification regulations.

I am confident that this progress can be maintained into the future with the continued operation of the existing measures and the on-going co-operation of farmers and all involved in the livestock industry. It is however vital that we continue to recognise that Brucellosis is a highly contagious disease and that we do not relax or relent in our efforts to eradicate it from our national herd. In view of this, we need to continue in the medium term with the existing comprehensive control and eradication measures, which have brought about positive results in recent years in terms of reduced incidence of the disease.