Written answers
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Department of Agriculture and Food
Bovine Diseases
9:00 pm
Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's contingency arrangements to mitigate the risk of the introduction of the bluetongue virus into the country are based on existing EU legislation and an ongoing assessment of the risk to Ireland.
In terms of my Department's overall contingency arrangements, we have produced a comprehensive Bluetongue Contingency Plan for Ireland. Information and advice leaflets on Bluetongue were sent to every farmer in the country, as well as specifically tailored advisory material to all members of the Veterinary Profession. My Departments contingency arrangements are kept under constant review and revised as appropriate by reference to the developing disease situation or in the light of legal or other developments, particularly at EU level. In addition, we are also refining arrangements for delivery of a vaccination programme in the event that it becomes necessary to vaccinate here.
In the meantime, I strongly urge Irish farmers and others not to import livestock from a affected zones under any circumstances as this represents the biggest risk of the introduction of the disease. I have made this clear to the farming organisations during the many briefings on bluetongue and have asked that they too use their influence accordingly. I wish to re-iterate that any such animal found BTV positive to a PCR (virus) test on arrival here will be immediately slaughtered. There are no compensation arrangements in place in the case of such slaughter. Consequently, farmers and others should be aware of the possible financial risks that they may be exposed to in addition to the risk that such imports may pose to the national herd.
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