Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

On the first thing the Deputy said, we are going to look at every dimension of this. I have said that from the outset. We have a really outstanding bovine identification system, in part because we went through difficulties with bovines in the early nineties. After 2001, our system really improved. It is now pretty tight. These are different sectors. For example, horses live a long time and move a lot. They move to competition, they move across borders and they move to the North. They will move multiple times in their lifetimes. A bovine will generally be born, raised to 30 months of age and then slaughtered. There may have been two or three movements in the meantime. It is a very different and more compact system. The other thing is that we are slaughtering 1.8 million bovines a year for human food. The fact is that horses are not reared here with that intention in mind. That is just an explanation of the history. I do not have to explain that to people but it is just a fact. We changed things after 2013. We introduced a single database and security features on the passport. We are at the point of introducing e-passports. The legal framework we apply in respect of horses is consistent with EU law, as is the legal framework we apply in respect of bovines.

We now know that the system for horses can be circumvented. We will have to look at every dimension of this. We will have to look at the time for registration and how you register. For example, we will have to consider whether a DNA sample is required. We have DNA samples from many horses. We have to consider whether the DNA sample is checked after the point of slaughter or at the point of export. We have to decide whether to change the system of issuing passports and how that should be done. We may move to e-passports. I do not want to prejudice the outcome of this exercise but it is clear that we have to do something fairly dramatic and that we have to do it quickly. I accept all of that.