Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 1630: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will end or at least increase the 30 month age limit for BSE testing; his views on whether this age limit is very disruptive to the market place and leads to unnecessary losses to farmers as well as the cost of the testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31239/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The existing requirement that all cattle over 30 months of age slaughtered for human consumption must be tested for BSE is provided for under 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.

However, under the recently amended TSE regulation, there is provision for a possible revision of Member States' monitoring programmes (including changes to the age at which healthy slaughtered animals for human consumption must be tested for BSE) following evaluation of applications by Member States in response to their improved BSE situation.

Having a significant increase in the age threshold for BSE testing has been a priority of mine since my appointment and I am, therefore, particularly pleased that the EU Commissioner for Public Health has now accepted the argument and agreed to a proposed increase in the minimum age for BSE testing of both animals slaughtered for human consumption as well as emergency slaughtered and fallen animals to 48 months. This decision will deliver very significant savings to farmers who currently pay to have healthy slaughtered animals over 30 months tested for BSE.

I am confident that Ireland's application to apply testing at this higher age will be approved and that the new testing regime will be in place from early 2009.