Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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1036. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if horses entering Ireland are being tested for herpes virus in order to protect the equine industry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13387/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a herpes virus that is widely distributed across the world, including in Ireland. It usually manifests as a respiratory or reproductive disease and occasionally in a paralytic form. The primary risk mitigating measures are biosecurity and vaccination.

My Department continues to monitor the on-going outbreak of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in horses in continental Europe. My Chief Veterinary Officer and relevant officials met with representatives of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) and the Irish Equine Centre (IEC) to develop an appropriate risk mitigating response. HSI, in consultation with my Department and the IEC have published a protocol for sport horses arriving in Ireland from high risk areas of Europe outlining the measures that horse owners should take to mitigate the risk of spread. I strongly endorse the recommendations in this protocol that requires all those competing horses, on returning to Ireland, to isolate and carry out two tests prior to completing quarantine. This is critical to the protection of our sector.

It should be noted that all horses coming into the country must be accompanied by a health certificate declaring that they clear of clinical signs of infectious disease.

Given the extent that the virus seems to have spread across Europe and the description of the clinical outcome, I would urge all players in the equine industry to respond to the increased risk that this poses to the equine population in Ireland and to double down on their biosecurity practices and measures.