Vol. 543 No. 2
259 Mr. J. Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he has satisfied himself with the progress achieved to date in the national scheme for the individual tagging of sheep; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26310/01]
With the introduction in June of this year of the national sheep identification system, NSIS, Ireland has, for the first time, full traceability for all sheep on an individual animal basis. Every sheep which moves from a holding within the State or which is imported into the State and every sheep carcase processed in any of our processing plants is now fully and individually identified and full traceability is now possible. All sheep remaining on holdings are required to be individually tagged by 15 December next. I attach great importance to this development which is of significant benefit to the sheep sector, most notably in terms of disease control, marketing and in the implementation of the relevant recommendations of the sheepmeat forum.
Having regard to the various requirements which it has been designed to address, I believe that the NSIS system is simple to understand and operate. It avails of opportunities offered by modern technology and is also cost efficient from the perspectives of flock owners processors, tag suppliers, the Department and purchasers of Irish sheepmeat. I accept that it does impose a measure of additional work on flock owners and others, but this will be the case with any worthwhile system of identification and traceability. I regard such extra effort as an investment in the future of the sector and in its capacity to meet the requirements of markets and ever more discerning consumers. It should also be recognised that individual identification provides the flock owner with a valuable management tool, a fact which has been publicly recognised by a number of flock owners since the NSIS became operational.
My Department is monitoring the implementation of the NSIS on an ongoing basis and will address any significant difficulties should they arise. I am pleased to report that the system generally is working well and that sheep presented in marts and factories are properly tagged and documented. I look forward to full compliance by flock owners with the requirement that all sheep remaining on holdings are tagged no later than 15 December next.
It is worth pointing out that from June to date more than eight million tags have been issued by approved suppliers to almost 40,000 flock owners. This represents almost all of the flock owners in the country. While I regard the introduction of the NSIS as a major achievement, it is a system which can be built upon and which can evolve and be further developed in line with technological advances and the requirements of the sector as a whole.
