Sean Fleming
Ceist:8Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine his plans to address sheep tagging issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23270/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 10 May 2012
Ceisteanna (6)
Freagraí ó Béal (1 píosaí cainte)
The Deputy should be aware I already have issued a press statement dealing comprehensively with the various issues surrounding sheep tagging and the implementation of electronic identification, EID, in sheep under the national sheep identification system, NSIS. In this statement, I have reminded farmers the practice of re-tagging slaughter lambs on a second or subsequent holding is not permitted under European rules. One identity for life is at the heart of the EU legislation and Ireland, in line with all other member states is obliged to implement this requirement under its revised sheep identification scheme.
Under NSIS, sheep born since 31 December 2009 must retain one identity for life from the holding of origin and that tag number must be recorded accurately on the movement documentation when sheep are moving off a holding. The Deputy will be aware that Ireland has chosen to exempt the vast majority of its lambs from any EID tag requirements. All lambs under 12 months old and going directly to slaughter, some 80% of all movements, are permanently exempt from any EID requirement. For the remaining animals, I also have taken the opportunity to point out to farmers that they should consider using electronic tags on a voluntary basis for lambs that are being sold through marts. In this case, lambs that are electronically tagged at the holding of origin at the outset have a definite attractiveness over conventionally tagged lambs, as they can be scanned instead of being obliged to record the tag numbers manually. Manual recording for large numbers of animals will be problematic. Furthermore, lambs that are identified with an EID tag set have the additional attractiveness in that they require no further tagging to comply with EU or NSIS rules whether they are being purchased by slaughterhouses, fatteners, exporters or are being retained for breeding.
In the case of sheep that are electronically identified, it also will be possible for these lambs to be scanned on arrival at a slaughterhouse or mart that is an approved central point of recording, CPR. Under NSIS, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is allowing for the provision of a facility whereby slaughterhouses and marts that meet certain requirements can be approved as a CPR. An approved CPR can provide the farmer with a list of the tag numbers of the animals in a given consignment for association with the relevant dispatch or movement document. While the farmer will still be obliged to complete a dispatch or movement document, this will save him or her from being obliged to manually read and write down on the dispatch or movement document all the tag numbers of the sheep making up the consignment. I again urge factories and marts to co-operate in the provision of a CPR service to the farmer. Greater use of EID tags will contribute towards accurate record keeping and assured traceability and will help avoid cross-compliance penalties.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
I also have pointed out in the aforementioned statement that Ireland has made satisfactory progress with the implementation of EID requirements for sheep, in line with EU rules, and this already has been acknowledged by the European Union's Food and Veterinary Office. Furthermore, I am anxious to keep up the momentum already achieved on implementation of the final elements of the tagging arrangements and of EID in sheep coupled with the necessary revisions to NSIS. This is the best way of ensuring we continue to have a robust identification and traceability system and have improved market access for our sheep meat products. The co-operation of all stakeholders is important if we are to achieve a successful outcome in the implementation of EID.
I acknowledge there are farmer concerns in areas such as cross-compliance, animal welfare and individual animal movement recording. All these matters have been discussed with my Department and they will be kept under review and my officials will work with stakeholders in finding solutions to any problems that may arise.