Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 379: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the measures she has taken or proposes to take to isolate the possibility of an outbreak of foot and mouth or bluetongue disease here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21913/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department and I have been particularly proactive in taking measures designed to minimise the risk of the introduction to Ireland of either Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) or Bluetongue.

With regard to the threat of FMD, I introduced an immediate ban on the importation to Ireland from Great Britain of live susceptible animals, fresh meat, raw milk and other products from such animals as soon as the first case of FMD was confirmed in Surrey on 3 August. I also instructed the immediate installation of disinfection points at Irish ports and airports. My Department also published information leaflets for people travelling from Britain and published information notices in the national newspapers as well as providing advice to the organisers of agricultural shows. Furthermore, my Department set-up a dedicated FMD website which contains a significant amount of useful information and advice. Within days of the introduction of my ban on imports from Britain, the European Commission introduced a ban on the export from Britain of susceptible live animals and products, including those included in my earlier ban. The Commission Decision was strictly enforced by my Department and a subsequent Commission Decision, introduced in the immediate aftermath of the first case in the second cluster of cases on 12 September, is currently being enforced by my Department. In the short period during which live exports from Britain were permitted, there were three consignments of live animals imported from Britain and all have been traced and clinically examined and found not to have any signs of disease.

With regard to Bluetongue, my Department and I have responded proactively to the increased threat posed by the spread of the disease across northern Europe last year by engaging the Department of Zoology at NUI Galway to assist in carrying out a comprehensive surveillance survey of the midges that potentially spread the virus. In addition, my Department's laboratory service has been testing thousands of blood samples for any evidence of Bluetongue since August 2006. My Department has also updated its contingency plans and legislative basis and has provided advice leaflets to farmers and the veterinary profession as well as having organised an industry seminar on bluetongue in July and comprehensive information is available on the Department's bluetongue website – www.bluetongue.ie.

The more recent detection of the disease in Britain, along with the rapid spread of the disease across northern Europe and its detection at more northerly points than ever before, inevitably increase the threat to Ireland. On Friday last, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Britain confirmed an outbreak of Bluetongue and immediately put in place the control measures required by Council Directive 2000/75/EC. There is, already, as a result of the FMD outbreak in Britain, a ban on the importation from Britain of live animals. With regard to the threat presented by both Bluetongue and FMD, my approach is to ensure adequate awareness of the diseases and, particularly, the clinical signs with which farmers, veterinary practitioners and other livestock handlers ought to be familiar and to encourage vigilance among them when inspecting animals. In that regard, farmers and veterinary practitioners should note that Bluetongue is a notifiable disease and suspicions of the disease must be reported immediately to my Department. My Department and I are very conscious of the need to ensure such adequate awareness and are keeping the communications strategy under constant review. Secondly, I am satisfied that the control measures currently in place are, at all times, proportionate to the current level of risk. This is obviously a situation that also requires to be kept under review and I will not hesitate to refine and update those control measures should I be satisfied that the risk has increased and that further control measures are appropriate.

In relation to the threat posed by the two diseases, my Department and I have been working closely with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in London, the European Commission in Brussels and, particularly, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Belfast. I have been and continue to be in frequent contact with my Ministerial colleagues in London and Dublin while my officials are in constant contact with their counterparts. Working closely with DARD to ensure that the island of Ireland remains free of both Bluetongue and FMD is a priority for both Departments.