Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 September 2013
58. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he has taken to date to deal with the identification of horses; the progress made to date on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39541/13]
View answerThe identification and registration of equidae is governed by EU Council Directives 90/426/EEC and 90/427/EEC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008 of 6 June 2008. Regulation 504/2008, in effect since 1 July 2009, provides that an equine animal cannot be admitted to the food chain if it has not been identified within six months of the date of its birth, or by the 31st of December in the year of its birth, whichever date occurs later. It also provides that all equine animals registered from 1 July 2009 must be identified with a passport and a microchip.
The EU legislation has been transposed into national legislation via S.I. No. 357 of 2011 - European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (as amended). Amendments to this legislation strengthened the powers of the Minister in relation to approval of a passport issuing body, prosecutions, offences on forgery or tampering with a passport. Moreover provision was made for the withdrawal of a passport in the event of doubts on the reliability of a passport and issue of a new passport. My Department is currently in the process of drafting a new comprehensive Statutory Instrument to provide for further enhancement of the powers of the Minister.
A central equine database has been established on the Animal Identification and Movement [AIM] system which already contained data on cattle, sheep and pigs. The central equine database is now used to supplement the checks carried out by Department staff in slaughter plants, in particular to check that horses presented for slaughter are correctly identified and eligible for the food chain. Aside from the usual veterinary checks, the passport of an animal presented for slaughter is examined to ensure eligibility for the food chain, absence of evidence of tampering and that the markings recorded on the passport match the animal.
Furthermore in association with the introduction of a requirement for registration of horse premises, the database is interrogated to check whether a horse presented for slaughter has originated in registered premises while keepers from outside the State are accommodated through the use of a generic herd number. In addition, there has been an increase in enforcement of legislation relating to the identification of equines at sales, marts, fairs etc, and I acknowledge the successful collaboration between other agencies and my Department in this area.
I announced in March that I would like to see the establishment of a single Passport Issuing Organisation. The EU Commission is currently drafting new legislation to facilitate this development. However, since the new legislation involves co-decision by the Council and the European Parliament, it will be some time before this legislation is adopted. I will move to the final stage in the establishment of a single Passport Issuing Agency once EU legislation provides me with the required legal basis. In the meantime, the EU Commission has published proposals for a new regulation designed to enhance the controls on passports. I expect that this proposal will be adopted by the relevant EU Committee shortly.
In conclusion, I would like to assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to maintain ongoing vigilance in relation to official controls on the identification of horses.
