Vol. 549 No. 3
162 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties being experienced by many farmers around the country in the completion of sheep registration forms due to the complex and technical nature of the forms; and if he will take the complex nature of the forms into consideration when imposing penalties for the submission of incorrect information. [6781/02]
Under the national sheep identification system – NSIS – which came into operation on 21 June 2001, it is a legal requirement that persons who hold or keep sheep on a registered holding maintain records of the individual animal identification number attached to the animals. It is also a legal requirement to keep a written record of the movement of animals on to or off the registered holding. The accurate recording by all owners of flock details in their flock registers is an essential element of the traceability component of NSIS. To facilitate recording these details, flock registers were issued to all sheep farmers at the end of 2001. The register also provides for recording numbers of female sheep eligible for ewe premium purposes.
The flock register contains full guidelines and examples to assist with completion. To further assist farmers with any queries they may have, my Department has established a help-line and, in conjunction with Teagasc, is currently hosting more than 75 widely advertised information meetings nationwide. As with any new documentation, it will be necessary for flock owners to become familiar with the new flock register before they are comfortable in working with it. It is for the very purpose of assisting this process that my Department is providing the help and information mentioned. I do not accept that the flock register is unduly complex nor that it poses any more difficulty for flock owners than many other items of documentation, both farming related and otherwise, that they deal with as a matter of course.
From the feedback my Department has received to date, I am advised that flock registers are already being satisfactorily completed by very many flock owners. It must be remembered that the ultimate beneficiaries of an identification and traceability system, which works well and stands up to scrutiny from any quarter, are Irish sheep farmers themselves and that this is recognised by most flock owners. Incorrect or incomplete information in the register will not, in itself, result in the loss of ewe premium, although it may raise questions which the flock owner will have to address satisfactorily before premium payment can be cleared.
