andMr. Malone asked the Minister for Health if it is the intention of his Department to be represented at the forthcoming meeting of the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Animals under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

It is not intended that my Department will be represented at this meeting.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary give us any reason why the Department should not be represented? This is an international body in which a great portion of the public are interested and surely we should have some voice in the decisions made at that meeting. Is there any possibility that his Department or some public representatives from this country would be at the meeting?

I tell the Deputy and the House that Ireland will be represented on the committee by the Department of Agriculture and that Department have been asked to maintain liaison with the Department of Health.

I am grateful for that information. Would the representation be composed entirely of departmental representatives or would there be an additional number of public representatives of any kind there, ministerial or otherwise?

The committee are purely a technical committee of experts and are composed of veterinarians only.