§ 25. Mr. JOHN O'CONNORasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether sheep are imported from England into the Dublin 1026 market without any restriction or quarantine when they arrive at the North Wall, Dublin; and will he take steps to have similar restrictions and quarantine imposed upon such sheep as are placed upon Irish sheep imported into England from Ireland?
§ Mr. RUSSELL (Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture, Ireland)From England or Wales sheep can be imported to Ireland only under the authority of a permit from the Department. No permits for importation from either country to the Dublin market have been granted. In some instances recently, owing to a seasonal shortage in home supplies, fat sheep of a particular class were allowed to be imported from England to Dublin for butchers' purposes. The permits required that these sheep should be accompanied by Statutory Declarations that they had not been exposed to infection and, further, that they should be found free from disease on veterinary examination both before shipment and before being landed. When landed they were required to be taken forthwith to the abattoir and to be kept their until slaughtered. Quarantine at the North Wall, after landing, was not deemed necessary in all the circumstances.
§ Mr. J. O'CONNORWill the right hon. Gentleman see that only the same kind of restrictions are applied to cattle and sheep imported into this country?
§ Mr. RUSSELLIt is the business of the Department to see that animals imported from England have not been in surroundings where they would carry infection. We have no desire to carry our restrictions further than that.
§ Mr. J. O'CONNORWill the same modified kind of restrictions be applied on this side as are applied on the other side of the Channel?
§ Mr. RUSSELLThat question must be addressed to the President of the Board of Agriculture.
26. Mr. KELLYasked whether the Departmental inspectors who observed the arrangements for feeding lambs at Birkenhead and Glasgow detected detrimental results in any of the cases which came under their notice; did they report specially on the results of feeding young unweaned lambs; and, if so, was their report favourable or otherwise to the system?
§ Mr. RUSSELLNo detrimental results have been observed by the Department's inspectors, who have reported favourably on the system of feeding unweaned lambs.
§ 51. Mr. CRUMLEYasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the time has now arrived when he may with safety reduce the period of detention at English ports of live stock exported from Ireland?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Runciman)The period of detention will be reduced to ten hours on Saturday next.
§ Mr. CRUMLEYDoes not the right hon. Gentleman see his way to reduce the period to six hours, and inasmuch as no disease of any description exists in Ireland at the present time—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member is not entitled to give information.