Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
458. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why a person (details supplied) is being charged for SNP testing when the cost of testing is covered by the DAFM-HSI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52329/23]
View answerIn 2022, under a national equine breeding initiative, funded by my Department, equine breed societies commenced transitioning from micro-satellite (MS) to Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) DNA analysis, aligning with global equine genetics standards. This move involved generating a reference library by re-analysing using SNP approximately 10,000 samples of horses active in studbook breeding programmes in the previous three years. My Department fully supports this movement to SNP due to the opportunities, not only to verify parentage, but to also identify markers for potential genetic variants for use in breeding programmes. For example, various genetic diseases, breed composition, colour prediction and genomic evaluations, etc.
In 2023, my Department has provided funding for SNP genomic testing to breed societies under the Equine Technical Support Programme (ETS) for first time samples, i.e. foals, at a rate of 70% and under the National Breeding Programme initiative for sires and/or dams who previously had been tested by MS at a rate of 100%. The rate of 70% grant aid for first time samples is in accordance with State Aid guidelines and is similar to the rate provided for MS testing in previous years. Funding is no longer being made available for MS testing for parentage verification purposes.
It is the responsibility of each equine breed society to put in place the measures required to implement the SNP genomic testing. Should issues arise in individual cases, these should be brought to the attention of the breed society in the first instance.
