Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 January 2022
222. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of lambs that have been imported into Ireland per week since 1 July 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3757/22]
View answer223. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown of the lambs imported into Ireland by country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3758/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 222 and 223 together.
My Department uses the TRACES system to record sheep movements in terms of both imports and exports for the purposes of slaughter, breeding and fattening.
Traditionally, most live sheep imported into Ireland have come from the UK, including Northern Ireland. In 2021, a total of 367,936 sheep were imported. The below table provides both the country of origin and the quantity of sheep imported each month in 2021. My Department does not collect or collate live sheep imports on a weekly basis.
Sheep Imports 2021
|
Month |
Northern Ireland |
France |
Belgium |
Holland |
Total |
|
January |
35,034 |
||||
|
February |
26,160 |
||||
|
March |
22,469 |
||||
|
April |
19,053 |
||||
|
May |
20,394 |
||||
|
June |
18,919 |
41 |
|||
|
July |
37,816 |
99 |
|||
|
August |
38,842 |
11 |
|||
|
September |
40,947 |
15 |
83 |
||
|
October |
30,462 |
68 |
|||
|
November |
42,995 |
||||
|
December |
34,494 |
24 |
10 |
||
|
Total |
367,585 |
50 |
167 |
134 |
367,936 |
