Mr. Alan Wood:

I asked the CEO of the ICBF at a meeting in Elphin mart attended by 200 or 300 people how many calves are born or registered annually under the BDGP. There are approximately 24,000 herd owners in the programme. I failed to get an answer that night. I have been asking for the answer to that question for nearly a year. I have a roundabout figure of roughly 9,000 Limousin calves born annually under the BGDP to non-pedigree bulls. One can call them any kind of bull one wants, including a scrub. Based on that figure, 30,000 calves a year are being born to non-pedigree bulls divided among the 24,000 herd owners . If I was a French or English farmer looking at our data - we are supposed to be leading the field in genomics - it would show 30,000 calves are born annually under the programme. I have asked the question on numerous occasions. The ICBF is supposed to get back to me but it never does.

The Department did say that it was legislation that was there since the 1960s, but regardless, it should not be part of it. It was a badly thought out scheme and it should not be allowed. Imagine French farmers or farmers from elsewhere looking at our data.