Michael Fitzmaurice Questions Plant and Animal Health Measures

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice. Thanks. And you have seven minutes, and if you want to sing a song within that, you have to be within the seven minutes. Is that all right? Thanks, Willie. Thanks for coming the other day as well, Willie. See you back in independent Ireland. First of all... The farmers from Mexico. The farmers from Mexico. First of all, thanks for coming in. Just on Dash Dayback. When Dash Dayback brought in by Ireland, the Department of Allowing Plans in, as Deputy Kinney said. And that's for Barry. In relation to the bark beetle, I see a reference there about climate change and the bark beetle. My understanding was that the bark beetle is in Scotland and that we were bringing timber from Scotland and that the danger was that he was in it. Where has climate change got to do with that? Thanks. Thanks, Deputy. Look, as I said, I will share that document again in terms of the learnings from Ash Dayback and the findings and in terms of the European Union and the free movement of plants. So basically a container of plants coming from the Netherlands to Ireland is treated the same as those coming from Cork. They have to meet certain conditions and have to be grown in a certain way. And in terms of Ash Dayback, it wasn't... So there's a list of 200, 300 pest and diseases in the European regulations. That wasn't one of them. It was a new one that emerged and we and our UK colleagues had identified it and were putting measures in. But at that point, a number of consignments had come in and as I've said to you, irrespective of whatever measures we'd put in, it moves through the air and it's in every single country in Europe at the moment. So we can talk again on that one. In terms of Scotland... So Scotland have a slight... There's a number of different beetles. When we say the bark beetle, what we actually mean is a whole complex. There's like six or seven bark beetles that are there. Some have more concern than others. But the one in Scotland of concern at that stage was Ipsenbury, which is associated with Larch. But we had found bark beetles in Corkport on consignments that had come from Scotland. And that was the basis in terms of when Scotland, the trade with Scotland stopped. So I suppose that's back to surveillance. That's back to inspections. The computer won't show you that model. If they're there in Scotland and you're in porting gear, it's about surveillance. Would you agree? Yes, yes. And inspections, yeah. Owen, and thanks for coming in. In relation to the blue tongue, there's a fair concern among farmers in the southern part of the country. An awful lot of lambs come down to the southern from Northern Ireland constantly. And there was a fair danger when blue tongue was in the north. Why wasn't there a decision taken that would halt that in case of the risk? I see that it's an all-Ireland sort of policy you talk about and probably you'd be liaising with Brian Dewar or whoever. But why wasn't that looked at? Because I can tell, like those lorry loads coming down constantly to the factories here. And with the best will in the world, if there was any danger of that, we were looking, we're nearly trying to bring it into us, you could say, with them coming down if there was any risk in any of those sheep coming down because sheep can get it the same as cattle. And in relation to bird flu, is it just transmitted, say, that migratory birds bring it in and how was it transmitted across? You talk about Jones disease. How much testing is done for that? And in relation to the blue tongue, is that abated now the danger of that? Is there a certain period of time? I know frosty weather or cold weather are supposed to kill it off a bit. And if you use vaccines on that, or if you use vaccines on any of the different problems, is it harder to get the animals exported? Is there a, you like to talk about, and there is no one yet, a vaccine for TB that works right. Is there a reluctance then on the exports of those animals that makes them less acceptable? And why are we going down a road? Like, geez, if you go on Dundeele, you'll see nearly everything from a snake to a different bird to a crocodile or whatever. Why, like, and there's a zoo in this country is for kids going off looking at unusual things that are unusual animals. Like, we saw mink. Mink were let out in this country and we see the torture they're causing us now. That's the facts of it. Where the people that were at it at the end, yeah, the department got involved in it. But mink were let go by these so-called environmentalists and they have tortured parts of the country. And there are places where the department is letting be these erotic animals or whatever they are, you call them, and then people get fed up with them and let them off. And we're looking for trouble. How is it there isn't, if you want to look at something erotic in an animal, why don't you go to the zoo or have them in a zoo, have it all fully, have them vaccinated or make sure that there's a proper length of time that we're not going to risk this whole thing that we're going down. We've only a minute and a half. Thank you very much, deputy. So, I mean, I suppose there's a few elements to this. You know, the fact you've mentioned a number of risks highlights why we need a broad, holistic approach to it. That's why we have a national animal health surveillance strategy for exactly the reasons you outlined. There's a number of risks and we need to look at a number of things. So we do use that national animal health surveillance strategy. It's a very practical one. On blue tongue, first of all, labs for slaughter from Northern Ireland. Senator De Laide referred earlier to making sure that, you know, policy is proportionate and balances the risk and the impact. It simply wouldn't have been proportionate to stop animals moving from slaughter from Northern Ireland. So first of all, there isn't provision in EU legislation to stop that. And that's because after doing the risk assessment of the science, it isn't proportionate. You wouldn't be closing off an element of risk by stopping those moves direct to slaughter. So just to provide the background, animals can still move directly from Northern Ireland to slaughter here. They have to go directly to slaughter. They can't stop off. It has to be pre-notified to the department before they move. And that is proportionate. I'll just go next to the next blue tongue questions you had about the weather because they link to that. Blue tongue is spread principally by biting midges. And in order for the virus to replicate in the midges, the temperature, the average daily temperatures have to exceed 12 degrees for a considerable amount of time. So one warm day doesn't do it. At the moment, average daily temperatures are far below 12 degrees. And while we might see the odd midge around here or there, if you're by a body of water, there's very little midge activity. So blue tongue is not going to be transmitted at the moment on this island. It's too cold. Now, it could still be transmitted by germinal products such as an infected bull or by a pregnant animal coming in. But the main risk is through spread by infected midges. And that's why it's just not proportionate to stop movements of animals directly for slaughter. And that's the reason that it isn't provided for in EU legislation. It isn't arbitrary. It's well thought out and it's proportionate. On the way... Senator Victor Bynum No. You made this.