Irish pet-owners may have to wait a little longer than their British counterparts to benefit from a liberalisation of the quarantine laws which were announced in London yesterday.
There, it was announced that a one-year pilot scheme is to be introduced from next April which will give passports to pets for travel outside these islands, rather than have them locked in kennels for six months on their return.
However, owners who want to re-import their animals to Britain from countries other than Ireland will have to get them blood-tested, have an official health certificate, and vaccinate them against rabies and other diseases.
To prevent owners substituting another animal when returning, identification microchips will have to be embedded in their pets.
During the pilot scheme, the new rules will apply only to pets travelling out of Dover and Portsmouth ferryports, Heathrow airport and through the Channel Tunnel.
Yesterday a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Food said Ireland and the UK have for many years maintained a common quarantine-based approach to rabies control, and there was free movement between Ireland and Britain.
"There are strong practical arguments for operating similar systems within both jurisdictions, having regard to both the volume of travellers between Ireland and the UK and the fact that we have a land border with Northern Ireland," he said.
"There is a possibility that we may monitor how the pilot scheme is operating in the UK before travelling the same route."
The spokesman said that the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, had asked his Department to consult the relevant government departments, State agencies and other interested parties.
He said the Minister had already made a statement saying that he would be bringing forward recommendations for government decision, probably in October or November.