Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will increase the age limit for compulsory BSE testing from its current limit of 30 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2034/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The current requirement that all bovine animals over 30 months of age, slaughtered for human consumption, must be tested for BSE is provided for in Regulation (EC) No.999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (The TSE Regulation). Accordingly I do not have the discretion to raise this age threshold as I would wish to do in view of the major progress achieved here in relation to BSE.

I have been making repeated efforts to have the age thresholds for the various categories of animals changed, based on the results of surveillance carried out here. Under the recently amended TSE regulation there is provision for a revision to Member's States monitoring programmes (including changes to the age at which healthy slaughtered animals for human consumption must be tested for BSE) on the basis of applications by Member States in response to their improved BSE situation.

The proposals tabled by the Commission late last year included the following options for slaughter cattle:

To test all cattle over 42 months

To test all cattle born before January 1 2002 and 50 per cent of cattle born since and aged over 42 months.

To test all animals born before January 1 2004 and none (or minimum sample size) for those born since.Under each option, emergency slaughtered cattle and fallen stock over 36 months would require to be tested.

In January 2008, the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection indicated his support for the first of the three options referred to above and the Commission has consulted the European Food Safety Agency. The agreement of the European Parliament is also required for any change to the current regime.

While Ireland would have preferred the third option, we acknowledge that the option being supported by the Commission would represent significant progress and would significantly reduce the amount of testing to be undertaken here. I have written to the Commissioner again asking that outstanding issues be completed so that a new regime can be applied from the earliest date.