Mary Wallace (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The Department of Agriculture and Food is responsible for implementing arrangements for the approval and registration of persons engaged in dealing in cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry under the Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001. As the Deputy said, that Act was introduced in the context of concerns that arose during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 and included, inter alia, a provision requiring dealers to be approved and registered to provide further assurances on the health status and traceability of our national herd.

The purpose of this legislation and the regulations adopted under it was to minimise the risks of disease outbreaks, reduce the spread of disease and ensure traceability of all movements to secure and preserve markets at home and abroad. It also implements aspects of EU legislation on dealers.

Under the legislation, a dealer is classified as a person who purchases cattle, sheep, pigs or poultry and supplies them to another person within a period of 45 days. The 45-day rule was introduced to facilitate farmer trade and reduce exposure of cattle to disease risks associated with frequent trading patterns. We have no evidence that this rule is acting as a significant barrier to trading in animals through the marts or otherwise.

The Deputy alluded to the definition of "dealer" in his remarks. The definition of "dealer" in the Act, and carried through to the regulations, extends to all individuals who sell or supply animals on a regular basis within 45 days of purchase. In principle, therefore, all those trading animals, including those supplying for slaughter within a 45 day period, must be registered as dealers. However, the Department does not require those who engage in occasional trade on their own behalf or on behalf of others to apply for approval and registration.

The regulations introduced a number of obligations and responsibilities for dealers. In particular, if dealers are assembling or holding animals other than at an approved assembly point, they must have their premises approved for this purpose and the premises must meet certain minimum standards. Dealers must also comply with regulatory requirements regarding bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis and animal identification and registration rules. However, dealers are not obliged to have a premises. Those who buy or procure animals for other parties and supply the animals directly to those parties without assembling them or bringing them to an intermediate point do not need to have premises. Nevertheless, they must be registered and approved by the Department and are obliged to maintain records and comply with movement, disease testing rules etc.

All applicants for registration as dealers must undertake to comply with the regulations regarding the notification of animal movements, standard of facilities, disease control, record keeping etc. Each dealer is provided with an official identity card, with photograph, which should be presented in respect of animal and poultry transactions. Approved dealers and premises are subject to ongoing monitoring and inspection by officers of the Department.

The Department is reviewing the dealer legislation. The review will be comprehensive and will include an examination of the definition of a dealer. It will be completed soon.

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