Vol. 548 No. 4
55 Mr. M. Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the measures introduced and funding provided by the Government since 1997 to improve cattle traceability and national beef assurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4272/02]
Since 1997 my Department has provided some €40 million to improve cattle traceability and initiate a national beef assurance scheme. The main areas of expenditure relate to the provision of facilities for the identification and registration of all cattle born in the State, the installation of computers at marts, factories and export points and the establishment and maintenance of a database of all cattle in the State. A herd reconciliation exercise was conducted in early 2001 and additional work was undertaken in improving the documentation accompanying older cattle in the country to facilitate the collection of data at factories and marts.
The National Beef Assurance Scheme Act was enacted in 2000. In addition to the traceability of cattle plans are well advanced for the registration of all persons engaged in the beef industry under that scheme. All farms will be inspected and strict standards maintained for the production of beef.
