The Department of Agriculture last night dismissed as "preposterous" a claim that it was concealing the level of brucellosis in cattle. The allegation was made at the a.g.m. of the Irish Veterinary Union, whose president, Ms Ann Scanlon, said the Department was "shuffling the figures around" to ensure the number of herds infected remained below the 300 mark.
Should the number go above that level, Ireland would lose its brucellosis-free status. Ms Scanlon said she believed the State had exceeded the levels and warned that the EU was aware of what the Department was trying to do. She was speaking at the end of a long discussion when many delegates complained that there are increasing outbreaks of the disease, which causes cows to abort.
A Department of Agriculture and Food spokesman said Ms Scanlon's allegation was "out of order." The Department had stated on a number of occasions the 300-herd limit could be breached sooner rather than later and "the EU are aware of that".
Three resolutions submitted to the a.g.m. called for compulsory pre-movement brucellosis testing, and a Leitrim motion deplored perceived current Department policy.
It said that this policy had led to increased cattle brucellosis, threatening the disease-free status which allows free trade with Europe and endangering the health of IVU members and farm families.
There was a focus at the a.g.m. on food safety and the organisation's involvement with the other veterinary organisations in the Quality Assurance Scheme.
In her presidential address, Ms Scanlon told vets to take the initiative and get training in the new scheme and in schemes being run for the industry. She said vets should not accept criticism of the fees they charge because of the unique services they deliver.
Delegates complained that it appeared the Department of Agriculture seems to be determined to replace them with technicians for meat inspections at processing plants. But Mr Pat Brady, IVU general secretary, said some people in the Department would like vets to be replaced by technicians but there was also another view there that vets should be kept in the plants for consumer confidence purposes.
He said the Department of Agriculture knows that there is far greater flexibility in hiring a temporary veterinary inspector when needed than having a full-time person on staff who would still have to be paid even if there was no work in plants.
He said the IVU met the farm organisations over the year, with the exception of the Irish Farmers' Association, the largest. "Any sort of business relationship with the IFA continues to be made difficult not only by a demonstrable lack of interest on the part of that organisation in having a relationship" but by "sneering" in a page of the Farmers' Journal against the union.