mr president first of all i would like to thank my colleague ms de brún for her hard work on this report
the case of a thirty-eight year-old woman who died in the royal victoria hospital in belfast last year was a tiny reminder of the ongoing threat posed by rabies to ireland
it is believed that she contracted the disease when trying to break up a fight between two dogs while on a working holiday to south africa
more recently four people had to receive preventive injections in dublin after an illegally imported kitten started to act strangely and bit them
rabies is one of the oldest zoonotic diseases which affects humans and is invariably fatal once symptoms have occurred
global travel patterns mean that the disease is never far from our door
it is for this reason that ireland practises strict quarantine of imported animals and it is only because of these stringent measures that we are able to maintain our status as rabies-free
in order to continue this record it is crucial that the transitional agreement which this proposal would extend until the end of next year is not allowed to lapse in july twenty ten
the additional safeguards proposed are also crucial to both human and animal health as they would help solve the fight not just against rabies but also against specific ticks and tapeworms from which ireland is currently free
by accepting this proposal this house would facilitate the fight against rabies and provide a base for its eradication across europe
for these reasons the urgency of this matter must not go unstated
