I thank the Ceann Comhairle for slating the really important issue of the situation regarding bluetongue in Ireland and giving me the ability to be able to address the House on it today. Bluetongue is a viral disease caused by bluetongue virus, which can cause severe clinical signs in ruminant species such as cattle, sheep, goats and camelids - alpacas and llamas. There are many different serotypes of bluetongue virus. The most common serotypes found in Europe are 1, 3, 4 and 8. Since the first detection of bluetongue virus in Ireland on 22 January, infection has since been detected in five cattle herds in County Wexford. A further infection was detected last week in a bovine which had been in a number of counties during the possible infection period, and investigations are now ongoing into that case. While this is an unwelcome development, it is not unexpected as this virus has been spreading across Europe and Great Britain and was found in Northern Ireland in December 2025. First and foremost, I assure the House and public that there are no public health risks associated with bluetongue. Bluetongue does not affect human health or food safety, and meat and milk are safe to eat and drink. I acknowledge the stress that the presence of bluetongue must be causing farmers generally, especially in the south east. Bluetongue is spread by infected biting midges, many of which are found throughout the island of Ireland. The high-risk period for bluetongue spread is when temperatures are warmer between April and November. Thankfully, given the temperatures at this time of year, the disease cannot currently be spread by midges. My Department is undertaking surveillance across the country to detect the presence of further incursions. While animal movement controls may be required if the circumstances indicate it, based on the information currently available, the veterinary epidemiological risk assessment is that animal movement controls are not necessary. As such, there are no immediate plans to establish restriction zones here. Officials from my Department have undertaken regular engagement with farm organisations and stakeholders across the industry, as well as with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, since Ireland’s first case was confirmed. Ireland has now lost its disease-free status for bluetongue, which has ramifications for trade and predominantly for the movement of live animals and germinal products within the EU and to third countries. My officials are working to renegotiate veterinary health certificates to facilitate ongoing trade which has been impacted by the loss of freedom from bluetongue, including live animal exports. Much progress has been made in this area, but work is ongoing in respect of some markets. The detection of bluetongue in Ireland has created challenges for intracommunity trade in cattle and sheep. I know this is of particular concern to farmers in relation to the movement of calves and movements for breeding and production to Northern Ireland. The conditions for the agreed animal health certificates under which cattle and sheep can move to other member states, including Northern Ireland, within the EU for breeding and production can no longer be met due to bluetongue. In addition, the conditions to meet certification requirements for movement to Great Britain cannot currently be met either. Some importing member states have chosen to apply derogations to these conditions, thereby allowing the inward movement of cattle and sheep from countries with BTV-3, such as Ireland, subject to certain additional requirements decided by those member states. As no such derogation is in place in respect of Northern Ireland, the movement of cattle and sheep for breeding and production from Ireland to Northern Ireland cannot take place. The decision on whether to apply a derogation and on the conditions which would apply if that were done is taken by the importing member state, not by Ireland. I welcome the resumption of exports of cattle hides and skins to China following a temporary pause in trade, which had been a cause of great concern to industry. I acknowledge the work of my officials both here and in the Department who work extensively on market access, but also the team of officials in our embassy in Beijing who have worked closely with officials over there on this important matter. I announced last December that BTV-3 vaccination under licence would be permitted in Ireland from 2026. The high-risk period for infection will be during warmer months. Farmers, in consultation with their veterinary practitioners, should consider whether to use BTV-3 vaccines during the spring to protect their stock in advance of any midge-borne virus spread that is possible during the warmer months. In the broader European context, the Commission has recently recategorised bluetongue serotypes 1 to 24 in EU regulations under the EU Animal Health Law, thereby shifting it from a category C disease to a category D+E disease. This change is scheduled to take full effect on 15 July 2026 and will result in bluetongue being treated as a disease under surveillance, as opposed to a disease to be eradicated. This means that under EU legislation, no member state will be able to achieve official freedom from bluetongue. The implication for Ireland is the emphasis will be on movement controls and surveillance rather than disease eradication. I acknowledge the continued co-operation of industry stakeholders with my Department and the work of my officials in the Department who have been very attentive in preparing for and dealing with the incursion of the bluetongue virus. It is important to say that a pretty remarkable job has been done in recent times to keep it off the island up to now, considering its prevalence and spread across Europe and the UK. We were ready. We step-changed our approach according to risk levels. We worked on that basis of high surveillance. My colleagues in the House will recognise that how we responded to the outbreak and presence of this virus in January, when it was first detected here, was very different from how we would have responded in July. It is a dynamic virus. This is something we are responding to in real time. We are working in collaboration through our regional veterinary officers with our vets and with private veterinary practitioners in support of our farmers, who are very concerned about this. I am delighted to have the opportunity to hear Members’ contributions in the Dáil. I will come back to any points raised in my closing speech.

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I agree.

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I addressed it last week and also this week.

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I thank all colleagues in the House for taking the time to engage in what is an important debate and asking a number of questions I would be happy to answer. I acknowledge the presence of hill farmers from Galway and Roscommon, as well as the president of Macra na Feirme and other representatives with Senator Brady. In wrapping up, I will come back to each of the points that has been raised directly. I thank the Deputies who acknowledged the meetings I and my officials held and the ongoing engagement with members of the committee on agriculture, which have been important. Everyone has mentioned the stress and strain farmers face. Deputy Carthy outlined the horrendous weather we have experienced in recent times and the stress that brings. We all have a role to play in terms of being able to communicate clear answers. It is important that I am able to answer some of the questions from Deputies. A lot of points have been raised. Deputy Kenny was the first to ask about the situation with regard to the North. It was a very clear question. Deputy Carthy and others also highlighted that. It is important to bear in mind that the decisions a member state takes on what it allows into its jurisdiction is a decision for it to make. As outlined in my opening remarks, it is possible to secure derogations to general rules to allow member states to act differently from a disease prevalence perspective. However, different member states cannot be treated differently. If a derogation is given for bluetongue, it is not just for serotype 3, which we have and which is the most prominent one, but it is for serotypes 1 to 24, inclusive, and applies to every member state. Therefore, how we treat one member state is how we treat everybody. Deputy Fitzmaurice outlined videos online and different elements there. We are very much in the hands of the countries we trade with. From a market access perspective, that is no different from the export certificates that my veterinary teams negotiate with third countries or anywhere else. It is probably more unusual that it would happen in the European context, but from a disease-prevalence perspective that is how we engage. We have closely engaged with Northern Ireland. I had an online meeting with my counterpart in Northern Ireland, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, around where it is at in terms of its restrictions. It is on a different trajectory having identified it earlier before Christmas. We also spoke about the inroads we are making here and how we can try to harmonise our approaches in time. There are decisions for Northern Ireland to make in terms of what it allows into its jurisdiction, the same as there are for us as well in that. We have to be cognisant of what we allow in terms of the broader macro picture across Europe because dealing with Northern Ireland is the same as dealing with a member state due to the agreements that are in place. I am meeting Minister in person later this week and we will take the opportunity to engage on this issue, but our officials, including my Chief Veterinary Officer and members of my veterinary teams, are in constant contact with Northern Ireland as well. We are aware of the pressure and stress that this brings in that space. Deputy Kenny and other Members raised the area of trade, in particular China, and the importance of regaining access for skins and hides. As I did in my opening address, I pay tribute to my officials who deal with market access and our officials in the embassy in Beijing who have worked very closely with Chinese officials in the General Administration of Customs of China, GAC. That is an important avenue and market for us. There was concern here when that avenue was closed to us and while we have made progress on the skins and hides, I continue to work on the area of the broader protocol. The approach to atypical BSE cases, which are completely sporadic and which are recognised by other member states as being one-off, has not in any way impacted on our negligible health status for BSE at the World Organisation for Animal Health level. A change in that protocol, regaining market access, would allow Irish food companies to invest in personnel on the ground to build those relationships without the fear of that market continuously ebbing and flowing. As we know, atypical BSE cases will happen sporadically. That is something I continue to work on with my officials. Deputy Newsome Drennan raised the follow-up and surveillance. That has been extensive. She also said that there are questions that need to be answered about tracking and tracing. Our surveillance has been significant and extensive not just in Wexford but nationwide. It was not surprising that I unfortunately had to announce an additional case in this House today. That will happen because the more testing and tracking and surveillance we do, the more chances there are of being able to find it. Deputies O'Donoghue, Whitmore and others talked about climate change. Climate change is a reality and that is why the enhanced biosecurity measures we have in place are important. We are in a changing environment and our warming temperatures and the changes around climate change are leading to what once would have been called exotic diseases becoming prevalent and established here. Deputy Whitmore also talked about expanding the vector sampling needed for climate resilience. My Department has the national animal health surveillance strategy, which guides our surveillance and guides our measures in that regard. Deputies Aird and Callaghan thanked the officials and also spoke about the Chinese protocol, which I have dealt with. Deputy Bennett raised about all-island approach, which I have also addressed. She also spoke about biosecurity. Great credit is due for successfully keeping it off the island before now. Let us consider our successful efforts when avian influenza became established here. We got our disease-free status back within three months. When that arrived in November at the start of the high-risk period, there was a very strong sense that we were facing into a very tough winter. The partnership and collaboration between our poultry sector, private veterinary practitioners and our regional veterinary officers really has delivered. The adoption of the enhanced biosecurity measures that I put in place has been important. I agree with Deputy Collins about the need for clear information. I answer every question that I can and my Department's door is always open. He also spoke about the continuing work we do on accessing markets. I agree with Deputy Lawless to a certain extent. It is not positive to have it here, but if we are going to find it, it is positive to have the winter months and the time to prepare and to respond. We will continue to do that in real time. The Deputy also raised the point about bulls. It is a fact that it can be spread by bulls in semen, so it is prudent for farmers to consider blood testing when buying bulls and rams before they go breeding. These are elements that it is prudent for farmers to reflect upon. I agree that it is important not to catastrophise these issues because we will deal with them in real time. Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned specific countries. I prefer not to focus on specific countries but, in general, we work closely between third markets and European markets. We have changed some veterinary health certificates around disease status. We have been working on that for the past two years and we continue to do that around a range of different diseases. Deputy Healy-Rae questioned how midges survived from Northern Ireland to Wexford. Our very strong sense is that this infection did not come from Northern Ireland. It is not connected to the outbreaks in Northern Ireland but is much more likely to have come over on the wind from England or Wales. During the warmer weather, we monitored the wind patterns with Met Éireann and UCD. Midges blowing over the Irish Sea was a much more likely cause of this spread. The first animal that tested positive was in a field beside the sea, one of the first places it could have landed. It is not likely at all that imported straw is a contributing factor. Are cattle safe if they are housed? It is related to the activity of midges. The temperature needs to be constantly north of 12oC for the disease to be able to travel in midges as vectors. Can humans spread it? No. Can birds spread it? No. What are we doing in Wexford? The height of surveillance being employed is across the board and not just in Wexford. It is across the country, as is the tracking and tracing. An important point to make is that there will not be large-scale restrictions in the summertime because the disease is being recategorised in July across the EU. That will make life easier for us in some ways. It was not something we wanted when we were free of this disease. We wanted to be able to identify as quickly as possible. We did not want to lose our disease-free status, but now it is gone. We were the last of the European countries to be in that space, so there will be some relaxation of how we operate with that from July onwards. The roll out of vaccines will be a commercial decision for farmers. My role was to make it available and make sure we engaged with vaccine companies so that stock would be available. It is a commercial decision and we continue to work on that basis. I thank my colleagues for engaging constructively on this matter. My door and the door of my officials continue to be open. We want to reassure farmers and consumers that there are no health or food safety concerns around bluetongue. This is a production disease that has significant concerns for farmers. I will continue to work with my officials across the Department and with other countries to minimise the worst impacts of this.

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