The Department of Agriculture will introduce a mandatory pre-movement brucellosis test for cows and bulls within days to protect Irish exports of beef and dairy products.
The Department will not concede that the Republic has exceeded the level of brucellosis in the national herd which would cost the State its official brucellosis-free status, but figures shown to The Irish Times yesterday indicate that it has.
On November 1st, there were 323 restricted herds - 23 more than are allowed under EU regulations, which say OBF (official brucellosis-free status) cannot be given to countries with an infection rate higher than 0.2 per cent of its herds.
The loss of status would prevent Ireland exporting live cattle to the rest of Europe, could affect the export of dairy products and could prevent the reopening of the live trade with Egypt.
A Department spokesman said Ireland still had OBF status and the introduction of the pre-movement test would prevent the State losing it.
Brucellosis, a disease which causes cows to abort, is highly contagious and can be transmitted to humans. Earlier in the year, the Southern Health Board issued a public health warning about the dangers of the disease to humans.
The president of the Irish Veterinary Union, Ms Ann Scanlon, who recently accused the Department of concealing the true level of the disease, said her criticisms had been vindicated.
"I don't want to rake over old ground but the truth is that the EU will force us to introduce a mandatory pre-movement test for brucellosis now unless we do it ourselves." The Irish Farmers' Association's president, Mr John Donnelly, said that while the Minister had proposed a 30-day pre-movement test, no real details of the management of a comprehensive programme had been presented by his officials. He complained of the lack of response by the Department to IFA proposals to eradicate disease in blackspot areas.
Since the animal disease eradication programmes were privatised under the last government and the pre-movement test for brucellosis was no longer compulsory, there has been a dramatic spread of the disease, particularly in Munster and the midlands.
There are now 440 current reactor herds being investigated nationally, 117 herds with two or more clear tests and 323 restricted herds.
Limerick, Kerry, north Cork and both ridings in Tipperary are the most infected areas, followed by Laois, Offaly and Monaghan.