Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 432: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food further to Parliamentary Question No. 763 of 14 September 2011, if regulations governing scrapie will be eased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25756/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Regulation (EC) 999/2001 as amended by regulation (EC) 727/2007 requires the annual testing of both sheep presented for human consumption and fallen sheep over 18 months of age.

In 2007 the Commission adopted a level of testing for future years at a minimum annual sample of 10,000 sheep slaughtered for human consumption and 10,000 fallen sheep aged over 18 months.

This testing regime was directed at Countries where the population of ewes and ewe lambs put to the ram exceeds 750,000. This change substantially reduced the testing requirement from previous years when 41,677 and 26,970 healthy sheep were tested respectively in 2006 and 2007.

The testing requirements as set down by the EU are kept under review.

The scrapie surveillance programme is financed by my Department. In turn this expenditure is recouped almost in its entirety from the EU.