Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 Jun 1999

Vol. 506 No. 2

Written Answers. - Departmental Records.

Paul McGrath

Question:

189 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if computerised records of herd registers, herd movements and veterinary treatments will be acceptable under the new proposals from his Department; if only data from certain software companies will be acceptable; the way in which that software and those companies will be acceptable; the way in which the software and those companies were selected; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that no restrictions regarding record keeping exist in other Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15165/99]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

EU regulations permit herd registers to be kept in computer format approved by the competent authority in the member state. It has been decided that any computerised version of the herd register would have to contain similar security features to those included in the herd register book.

My Department contacted the main suppliers of farm management packages with a view to ensuring that their packages were upgraded to provide the required level of security. Following discussions with the three firms concerned, they have now upgraded their software and are in the process of distributing the upgrade to their clients. Discussions are in progress with a further three companies with a view to establishing the suitability of their particular computerised version of herd registers.

In so far as the record of veterinary treatments is concerned, my Department has recently had an approach from a company wishing to provide a computerised record for farmers. Discussions with the company concerned are ongoing with a view to determining whether the package concerned meets the essential requirements of the animal remedies legislation.