Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 December 2020
397. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 899 of 22 September 2020, the manner in which a problem by which a livestock vessel (details supplied) had certificates of approval from both Romania and Ireland in contravention of Article 19 of EU Regulation 1/2005 was resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40934/20]
View answerHeretofore, Ireland issued a single Certificate of approval in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No. 1 of 2005. Such certificates were issued under S.I. No. 356/2016 and S.I. No. 675/2006. This covered both approval under Regulation 1/2005, and under the more stringent Irish national standards laid down in S.I. No. 356 of 2016. These standards have been notified to the Commission and other Member States. They are viewed positively by the Commission, which sees them as best practice and has made efforts to raise standards in other Member States.
Since an administrative anomaly was drawn to my Department’s attention earlier this year in respect of the vessel named, the certification system has been reviewed and amended in line with legal advice.
A ship certified to carry livestock from Ireland must now hold two certificates.
The first certifies compliance with Regulation 1/2005 and may be issued by the Irish competent authority under SI 675/2006, or by the competent authority of another EU Member State.
The second, which is necessary under national law for a vessel to carry livestock from Ireland, is a certificate issued separately by the Irish competent authority under S.I. No. 356/2016. This indicates compliance with our more stringent standards.
