Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I do not know how I am going to work that one out, but I will take it as being a positive response. Perhaps, rather than reading the prepared response, the Minister of State would explain, in plain English, what that means from February of next year.

In the context of the import and export of sheep, a major issue that has arisen is that of having an all-Ireland animal health regime so that there would not be the possibility of sheep coming from the United Kingdom, via Northern Ireland, into the Republic. This is a genuine concern of farmers. I ask the Minister of State to clarify the situation in that regard and to give assurances that there are no sheep coming from Wales and Scotland, being re-branded as Northern Irish sheep and then making their way across the Border. There seems to be an enormous number of sheep north of the Border.

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