Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this as a topical issue today. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Creed, for coming to the Dáil to respond.

The issue I wish to raise is the unilateral decision by the Minister, announced a couple of weeks ago, to introduce mandatory electronic tagging for all lambs under the age of 12 months, even when they are going directly to the factory from the farm. This move was taken by the Minister without consultation. It was landed on the farming organisations and representatives without any notice. One questions why there are farm organisations and farmer representatives if the Department and the Minister are not going to engage with them and treat them as the stakeholders they are in our agriculture sector. Although there was some consultation and although there were meetings between the farm organisations and the Minister in the summer of 2015, there has been no real engagement whatsoever since. There were points of dispute with regard to how electronic tagging could be introduced at that stage. The Minister has not made an effort to resolve these matters since then.

The Minister very opportunely took the decision to announce the unilateral decision on the same day that the Common Agricultural Policy budget and associated cuts were announced. I wonder whether the Minister considered it to be a good day to bury more bad news. Obviously, the very difficult news that we were going to have a challenge regarding the Common Agricultural Policy budget was going to dominate the headlines.

There seems to have been a lack of preparation and proper consideration by the Minister. There are a few points to which I would like him to respond clearly. The first is on the cost of introducing electronic tagging. When lambs are going straight from the farm to the factory, a tag that costs 18 cent currently suffices. With electronic tagging, that cost will increase to €1.05, amounting to a 90 cent increase. The IFA estimates this will result in an overall cost of €2 million, borne entirely by farmers. The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, along with the IFA, have opposed adamantly the Minister's approach to this and have stated how they have been ignored in the process.

What engagement has the Minister had with the factories on seeking a contribution from them towards the cost? The new system will be of benefit to the factories and assist them in streamlining their processes. There should be a contribution from them to assist.

The Minister introduced a sheep welfare scheme last year and there was under-expenditure in this regard of €7 million. A sum of €25 million was budgeted and €18 million was allocated. Surely the Department could assist with the cost.

On the timing, the Minister is seeking to make electronic tagging mandatory from 1 October. I am interested in hearing the rationale for picking that date. If the Minister is seeking to ensure clear identification of this year's crop of lambs, showing their origin, he should note most of those lambs will already have left the farms by 1 October. Surely it would make more sense to introduce the initiative in the following year.

What plans does the Minister have to introduce a sheep database? Will he consider it? Does he believe there can be full traceability with electronic tagging without introducing a database alongside it?

Overall, I ask the Minister to think again. Unfortunately, he is not working with the stakeholders involved - those who will be involved in implementation. It is a disgrace that the Minister ignored farmers to this extent. The unilateral move shows he is out of touch with them. Unfortunately, that is consistent with how he approached the fodder crisis and other crises experienced by the farming community over the past couple of years. I ask the Minister to draw a line and start to engage. He should try to ensure this issue will be addressed hand in hand with farmer representatives.

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