Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2015
356. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his view on the reason the genetic testing for the beef genomics scheme is so expensive; his plans to reduce this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34086/15]
View answerThe cost of the genotyping has been determined following a public tendering process undertaken by the ICBF in relation to laboratory analysis, tissue tags and the DNA chip. The new cost of the genotyping element is €22 per tag which is a 26% reduction on the 2014 cost, and a relatively small proportion of the overall payment to the farmer. By way of example, the payment to a farmer with a 20 cow herd, with 20 hectares, will be €1749.45 with genotyping for such a herd expected to cost approximately €264.
