Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she plans to put a national strategy in place with regard to infectious diseases such as IBR, BDVD and Joannes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7106/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently developing a herd health initiative to deal with non-regulated diseases in a comprehensive and integrated manner. The initiative has been proposed to enable Ireland achieve international best practice in the area of animal health which seeks to complement existing programmes and focus on non-regulatory issues in this area.

My officials have met with the principal stakeholders recently, including farming, industry, service providers and relevant state agency representatives and all have indicated their broad support for the initiative. All of the parties consulted shared the view that animal health is a critical contributor to competitiveness of Irish agriculture and additionally, that a superior animal health is a vital contributor to optimal farm efficiency and profitability.

Formal proposals, including funding of the initiative, will be circulated shortly to stakeholders and it is intended to progress the matter over the coming months.