Animal Diseases
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to provide an update on the situation. Bluetongue is a viral disease that can cause severe clinical signs in ruminant species, such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camelids, such as alpacas and llamas. There are many different serotypes of bluetongue virus, and bluetongue virus serotype 3, BTV3, is the serotype circulating in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 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, particularly those in the high-risk regions of the south east and the east.
Bluetongue has been detected in counties Wexford, Wicklow, Louth and Kildare. Modelling carried out by the UCD centre for veterinary epidemiology and risk analysis, CVERA, identified that the most likely time for an incursion of infected midges blown over to Ireland from Great Britain was probably in late September last year. Its modelling suggests that the incursion could have occurred along the south-east and east coast, including counties Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow and Louth. My Department is undertaking ongoing surveillance nationally, covering all parts of the country. This includes surveillance at abattoirs, testing of animals submitted to my Department’s network of regional veterinary laboratories, investigation of clinical suspects reported to my Department by farmers or vets, and targeted surveillance in counties identified by the modelling undertaken by UCD.
My Department has undertaken regular engagement with farm organisations and stakeholders across the industry, as well as with counterparts in Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs since Ireland’s first case was confirmed. This has included multiple webinars for different stakeholder groups on bluetongue and its implications. The objective is to provide farmers with information regarding the potential impact of bluetongue and the broad geographical areas where it is likely to be present, so they can make decisions on whether to vaccinate. Where appropriate, farmers can vaccinate during spring to ensure their stock is protected in advance of the higher-risk summer months, when warmer temperatures make virus replication possible within infected midges. I will provide more detail in my supplementary answer.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19