Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 655: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she has applied to the European Commission to revise the BSE screening programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12051/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The existing requirement that all bovines over 30 months of age, slaughtered for human consumption, must be tested along with all casualty animals and all fallen stock over 24 months is provided for under Regulation (EC) 999/2001. I have been a consistent advocate of change in these age thresholds, based on the results of surveillance carried out here and the significant reduction in the incidence of the disease in Ireland.

Under the recently amended TSE regulation, there is an enabling provision that allows Member States to seek amendments to their 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 to the Commission and in response to their improved BSE situation.

The proposals tabled by the Commission late last year for possible revision of testing 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 thereafter.

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 since requested the advice of the European Food Safety Agency on the number of test scenarios. The agreement of the European Parliament will also be required for any change to the current regime.

While Ireland would have favoured the third option, the option favoured by the Commission — to raise the testing age to 42 months — would still represent significant progress and would significantly reduce the amount of testing to be undertaken here. I have continually urged the Commissioner to complete all outstanding issues quickly so that a new testing regime can be applied here from the earliest possible date and I will continue to press for an early resolution of the remaining issues.