Bluetongue: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-24 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel I welcome the Minister and I thank him for facilitating our statements on bluetongue today. I know the Minister has had ongoing engagement and will continue to do so. We may have submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister's office in the last few days in relation to this subject. I know the Minister is committed to coming back to us and I want to thank him for doing that. I also want to acknowledge the very significant and important role of our chief veterinary officer within the Department. It is an amazing role and she is an amazing person who does the job. I ask the Minister to convey this to her and her team in Agriculture House, and also to the Minister's staff in agriculture. If anyone thought the Ministry of agriculture was an easy one, the last few months have made it very clear that it is a very busy Department. One wants to be up on one's feet, shrewd and capable. I wish the Minister well. This is just another thing to land on the Minister's desk and it is very much a challenge. The Minister has summed it all up. Ireland has now lost its disease-free status for bluetongue and this clearly has ramifications for trade. That must always be a concern to us all. The Minister touched on the renegotiation of the veterinary health certificates, VHC, to facilitate ongoing trade, which has been impacted with the loss of Ireland's freedom from bluetongue and includes live animal exports. Clearly we have a massive cross-Border trade and there would be major challenges. If there was ever a showcase of agriculture, Northern Ireland is an amazing place for anyone who is familiar, or not that familiar, with farming. It is confirmed that the Republic of Ireland had its first case of bluetongue back in January but the cross-Border trade for breeding stock is at a standstill now. We are effectively at a standstill between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is ahead of major sales shows, which somebody else referred to. It also affects new bloodlines that are now going to be shut down temporarily but at a particularly crucial time in sales. Pedigree and commercial cattle and sheep are particularly exposed as they rely on the genetic exchange, the cross-Border sales and the movement of highly valuable animals. This has an impact on us also. There has been a lot of talk about vaccinations. When we talk about animal health, consumption and food, and we have talked about this to a great extent in the last few weeks, people are asking questions about the vaccine, for example the BTV-3 vaccine, and its availability in Ireland. Perhaps the Minister will touch on availability - what vaccines are actually available, licensed and permitted - and the impact on our meat and consumption. This is a critical area of concern. Then we must ask about the supply chain and the consistency of vaccinations, what is the right choice for the flock or particular herd, and what is the advice there. Teagasc has done a certain amount of work in this area. It is important that we have Teagasc. I do not doubt its ability. It is about education and communication. The Minister is right when he says it is important that we get the message over that bluetongue has no impact on human health. That is a very strong message we need to get out there. There will be scaremongers who will be saying that this is not true. We have got to follow the science. I believe the Minister that this is an important message. The communication, and how we handle this crisis in very simple language, is really critical and important. The Minister might confirm what vaccines are currently authorised for use on animals in the Republic of Ireland. Circulars issued from the Department of agriculture said that the duration for the immunity period guaranteed in the specifications of a vaccine have "not been determined to date" but trials are ongoing in other countries. Will the Minister please comment on that? I know this is an ever-moving and ever-evolving situation but we need to be up to speed on the status of these vaccines. Supply of the vaccines is critically important. What vaccines are licensed to be used here? What have been approved? What work has been done in relation to that? This is really important. It is important to keep our veterinary practitioners and other relevant stakeholders up to speed in what is best practice. That is what is really important. It is about how we are going to communicate to the ordinary people, how we are going to communicate to the consumer, how we are going to communicate with the farmers involved, and the challenges around that. I thank the Minister for coming to the House and facilitating statements and some engagement. There will be a more detailed question-and-answer session with the Minister at the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food. Senator Daly and other Senators here are members of that committee. I wish the Minister well. It is another challenge but I have no doubt we will get over it. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-24/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-24