Liz McManus
Question:123 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the progress to date on the implementation of sheep tagging; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14081/01]
Written Answers - Sheep Identification System.
I have already signalled, in the House and elsewhere, my intention to introduce without delay a comprehensive identification system for sheep, based on the individual identification of all sheep by tagging. This system will be called the national sheep identification system – NSIS. My Department has virtually completed all the required preparatory work on this project and NSIS will go "live" and be operational nationally within the next few weeks. A full information pack on the detailed operation of NSIS will issue to farmers within the next week or so. I anticipate all elements of NSIS being in place within the current month, with a date in early June being specified as the date after which it will be illegal to trade in untagged sheep.
Eight companies have been approved to supply tags to farmers. The process of ordering tags will be a very simple one for farmers and will involve a computer-based interaction between each supplier and the Department, whereby herd-flock numbers will be validated, numerical sequences of tags assigned and data on individual orders captured for monitoring purposes.
With the introduction of NSIS, Ireland will for the first time have a system capable of providing full traceability for all sheep on an individual animal basis. This will be of significant benefit, most notably in terms of disease control, marketing, adherence to current and prospective EU requirements and the implementation of the rel evant recommendations of the Sheepmeat Forum which reported in October 1999. I consider the introduction of NSIS to be a most important step and one on which I believe we can build further advances as we move forward.