Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll:

There have been comments from time to time about the quality of tags and the loss of tags from animals, but when a tender is held the tags are tested to destruction. They are tested very thoroughly in the assessment process. No tag is perfect. Obviously, companies that lose a tender are always going to feel, maybe genuinely, that their tag is better than the one that won, but all I can do is assure the Deputy that the process of testing is very thorough. Lost tags are a significant issue. I was present at the final negotiations on the farmers charter and this was an issue right up to the very end before agreement was reached with the farming organisations. The issue was how many lost tags we would regard as minor if a farmer had ordered replacements.