Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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450. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to ensure the all-island animal health and welfare strategy is maintained in a hard Brexit scenario; and the status of discussions he has had with authorities in the UK and Northern Ireland in this regard. [14913/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Following recognition of the need for a high level animal health and welfare status on the island of Ireland, the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) commissioned a programme of work in 2001 to develop closer co-operation and joint strategies for the improvement of animal health on an all island basis.

Under the NSMC arrangements, a number of working groups, on different aspects of animal health and welfare, were established with the objective of co-operating on policies as far as possible. These Working Groups continue to co-operate closely, overseen by the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Steering Group, which is made up of senior officials from both my Department and the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.  The most recent meeting of the NSMC (Agriculture) in October 2016 provided an opportunity to discuss the potential implications of Brexit in the context of the All Island Strategy.

In addition to the ongoing cooperation within the NSMC structures, officials from my Department have established a number of bilateral working groups with their counterparts in Northern Ireland, specifically to discuss Brexit and its possible implications for animal and plant disease control strategies and contingency planning on the island. 

This work will feed into my Department’s preparations for the forthcoming EU/UK negotiations on the UK exit and its future relations with the EU.