Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I can come in on that. The animal identification and movement, AIM, system is up and running at the moment for livestock. There is no reason why the IHRB should have been huffing and puffing over the past number of years about bringing in that system because the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in fairness to it, has one of the best systems in Europe for livestock.

There is not the same number of horses compared with cattle, cows or even sheep. Is it not a ferocious flaw that in recent years the IHRB does not have a system in place? It puts the IHRB at a huge disadvantage. It is not Dr. Hillyer's fault. I do not blame her, but why are we looking at this for so long without making a move and when will that move be made? Who is going to answer that question? Will it be done before the end of this year? When will we have a card system for horses, like for other animals so that the IHRB will know how many horses I have, the Chairman has or whoever else, without even going near the person? The owner is accountable whether the animals move or not. One cannot say that they are gone to someone down the road because one has to go through the system of filling in the change of ownership online.