S.I. No. 24 of 2001

European Communities (Specified Risk Material) Regulations, 2001

I, Joe Walsh, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 ( No. 27 of 1972 ), and for the purpose of giving effect to Commission Decision No. 2001/2/EC¹ of 27 December 2000, hereby make the following Regulations:-

1.     (1)    These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Specified Risk Material) Regulations, 2001.

(2)    These Regulations shall come into operation on the 8th day of February, 2001.

2.     The European Communities (Specified Risk Material) Regulations, 2000 ( S.I. No. 332 of 2000 ) are hereby amended -

(a)    By the substitution in Regulation 2(1) of the following definitions for the definitions entitled “inspector” and “specified risk material” -

““inspector” means an inspector within the meaning of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966) or a veterinary inspector within the meaning of the Abattoirs Act, 1988 (No. 8 of 1988) ;

“specified risk material” means -

(i)    the skull including the brain and eyes, the tonsils, the spinal cord of bovine animals aged over 12 months, and the intestines from the duodenum to the rectum of bovine animals of all ages,

(ii)    the skull including the brain and eyes, the tonsils and the spinal cord of caprine and ovine animals aged over 12 months or which have a permanent incisor tooth erupted through the gum, and

(iii)    the spleen of a caprine or ovine animal,

and includes anything left attached to such material after dissection of the carcase and any animal matter which comes into contact with the material after it has been removed from the carcase;”.

(b)    By the substitution of Regulation 17 by the following Regulation -

“17.  An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister. An offence may be prosecuted by a local authority within its functional area in respect of any abattoir licensed by the Minister in accordance within the provisions of the Abattoirs Act, 1988 (No. 8 of 1988) or in respect of any slaughterhouse registered as a temporarily derogated slaughterhouse under the European Communities (Fresh Meat) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 434 of 1997 ).”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the European Communities (Specified Risk Material) Regulations, 2000 ( S.I. No. 332 of 2000 ) by setting out a revised definition of specified risk material which includes the entire bovine intestine.

Published by the Stationery Office, Dublin.

¹ O.J. No. L 1 of 4.1.2001, p. 21.