Mr. Michael Sheahan:

Deputy Michael Collins asked a good question about why we are still dealing with passports, markings of horses and so on. That is what EU legislation requires. EU legislation on this has been updated a number of times and extra safeguards have been built into the system so there is now a more standardised system of passports. The reality is that in Britain, for example, there are 90 different passport-issuing bodies. Germany has a similar number. We have a relatively small number of passport-issuing bodies but they are all governed by EU legislation. That dictates that horses have to be accompanied by a passport in a relatively standard format. They have to be microchipped and so on. There is room for improvement regarding traceability, as I talked about at the start. While we have a central database, which is required by EU legislation, it is not as slick an operation as the AIM system, which the Deputy mentioned earlier. There is a worldwide system. Horses travel all over the world for competition for the passport and microchip system is the internationally recognised standard.

As already stated, there are moves towards more digital systems. Those who are involved in the sector will know that this year, for the first time, Weatherbys in Ireland and, presumably in Britain too, has started to issue the so-called smart card in addition to the standard paper document. That is something that will develop further over time. We will probably move more towards electronic systems. At the moment, nationally, at EU level and indeed internationally, your book, passport and markings taken by a vet, as well as microchipping, are the standard system. It has improved a lot. It is not foolproof but over the years, many extra safeguards have been built into it.