Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation, which is very interesting. There has not been too much talk until now about the electronic tagging of cattle. It seems a very good idea but it is important we thrash out all of the nitty-gritty and get as much information from the witnesses as we can. This is a time when we can all get a lot of information, even on our phones, and we can go onto the Internet at home on a computer or laptop to get the details of a herd. We all remember going to the mart, and I often hauled cattle for people who would go around with blue cards stuck in their pockets.

After a wet morning or wet day, it was very difficult to read them. When an animal had passed through the mart a number of times the card had been folded in many ways and after a time, it was nearly impossible to read it. There was the added problem that if there was an inspection, the farmer might lose the card. It will take time for the older farmers, in particular, to get used to this but I believe it is a good idea. We have the best traceability system in Europe for livestock. That is very important given that we export 90% of our livestock. We must be certain that we can trace the cattle back to where they came from. Regardless of where the animal is sent in Europe, it can be traced back to the farm on which it was born.

Regarding the other point, one can check online whether drugs have been administered. One does not have to refer to a book where, again, the information might have been entered on a damp or wet day and it cannot be read after a month or two. There is no difficulty in that regard. We see it working with sheep and it does not present a problem in the breeding ewe population. Certainly, an odd one might lose a tag but it is easy enough to replace that. There does not appear to be a problem with it.

The cost is a big thing. That must be clarified. A euro does not appear to be out of the question. People could live with that. Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned introducing it on a voluntary basis for a year or two. We did that with the bovine viral diarrhoea, BVD, scheme. A number of farmers got involved in that scheme a year earlier than others and it worked quite well. In addition, it would be a big asset in the case of stolen animals. We could possibly move to a situation where a traceable device could be included so animals could be traced. We would be able to track them. However, that is down the road.

All in all, it looks quite positive. I look forward to hearing the response from the witnesses later.