Vol. 487 No. 8
30 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the progress, if any, his Department has made in reopening markets for live cattle in middle eastern and north African countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5149/98]
As I explained in the Dáil previously, it is a priority for me to ensure that BSE related restrictions on our live cattle trade are removed. Egypt and Libya have traditionally been important markets for Irish live cattle exports.
A technical delegation from my Department recently visited Egypt. One of the objectives of this visit was to discuss further the possibility of reopening the trade in live cattle, on the basis of the proposal for a trial shipment which I submitted last November to the Egyptian Deputy Premier and Minister for Agriculture. The delegation provided up to date information and further assurances on the BSE situation in Ireland to the Egyptian authorities. The proposal is being considered by the Egyptian authorities in the light of the additional information provided. In the case of Libya, contact is continuing through a number of channels with a view to having the live cattle trade restored.
It should also be noted that a consistent level of live exports to the Lebanon has developed this year.
