Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 October 2020
287. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of lambs and sheep killed in meat factories here with tags with a chip number of either 08261 region UK1-Northern Ireland or 08260 region UK0-United Kingdom in each of the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020; the plants that the animals were slaughtered in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30494/20]
View answer288. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the food business operators, FBOs, in which lambs and sheep were processed in each of the years 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30495/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 288 together.
The recording of sheep movements in Ireland is governed by Council Regulation (EU) 21/2004, as transposed into national legislation via S.I. 309 of 2011, as amended.
However, the intra EU movement of animals (including sheep from Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom) is recorded on the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), which is the EU-wide online management tool for all sanitary and phytosanitary requirements on intra-EU trade and importation of animals, semen and embryo, food, feed and plants. Therefore, all imports and exports of live sheep for the purposes of slaughter, breeding and fattening between Ireland and the United Kingdom, are recorded on TRACES.
The following data was extracted from TRACES:
- A total of 280,369 sheep were imported from Northern Ireland up to the 01 September 2020
- A total of 461,507 sheep were imported from Northern Ireland in 2019.
- In 2018, 521,693 sheep were imported in total from the United Kingdom. The imported sheep numbers from Northern Ireland were not available for 2018, but the vast majority of British sheep imports recorded on the TRACES system typically originate from Northern Ireland each year.
Information requested at FBO level cannot be provided due to commercial sensitivity.
