Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because most of the points have been covered at this stage. That is the disadvantage of being last. It appears to be a no-brainer, as was said already. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Have the witnesses had any engagement with the farm organisations? Generally, there is a process to be gone through and that could be very helpful. What type of reaction has been received from the three marts that were mentioned, including Enniscorthy and Roscommon? What was the reaction and feedback from both the farmers and the marts?

It was mentioned that this would do away with not only the passports but also the paper chase. A number of years ago, as Deputy Ó Cuív will remember, the e-voting system that was to be introduced was going to do away with the paper chase as well. We all know what happened to that. Personally, I believe there must be some element of a paper chase along the way. Doing away with it completely might not be the most appropriate way to go. Everybody needs to be able to see a printout or the like. That might be required.

The witness referred in the presentation to the type of tag, and I noted he nodded positively on this to some of the questions. It will be similar to the type of tag we have already. Tags can be lost from time to time. What happens in the event that a tag is lost? Is it easily replaced? What happens after that?

My final question is about access to the system. A little over a year and a half ago, representatives of a number of farm organisations and beef processors appeared before the committee to discuss the beef crisis. There were allegations at the time about who had access to the system. It was asserted that if some processors had access to a system, they would be able to determine and adjust the market to suit themselves. The allegation was that they would know exactly how many cattle were potentially coming into the system in the following spring, summer or whenever. Would it have an effect in that regard?