COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2007
ROOM 144 PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Dr William McCrea MP (Chairperson)
Tom Elliott (Deputy Chairperson)
P J Bradley
Thomas Burns
Trevor Clarke
William Irwin
Gerry McHugh
George Savage
In attendance:
Paul Carlisle (Clerk to the Committee)
Jim Beatty (Assistant Clerk)
Mary Hawthorne (Clerical Supervisor)
Kathy Neill (Clerical Officer)
The meeting opened at 4.34pm in Public Session
1. FMD Update
Dr Malcolm McKibben, Liz Redmond and Bert Houston, Department officials, joined the meeting at 4.34pm and gave an update on the latest outbreak of FMD and the actions taken by the Department. The officials confirmed that the 70 imports of live animals since 23 August 2007 had all been traced and found to be clear of FMD. The European Commission has restated its recognition of Northern Ireland as FMD free and exports to the EU have continued. The officials then answered questions from members.
The Committee recorded their support for the actions taken to date and urged the Department to do whatever is required to maintain the current status. The Committee also recorded its support for those farmers and their families affected by the outbreak.
The officials left the meeting at 5.25pm.
2. Next Meeting
The Committee will next meet at 2.00pm on Tuesday, 18 September 2007 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.
The meeting closed at 5.25pm.
Chairperson
Date