Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 437: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan will have a bull tested six times in their herd, recorded on their November 2004 census sheets and get returned from the factory where they are sent for slaughter owing to the fact that they are not properly recorded by her Department; if it is in the best interests of disease control that an animal like this should be returned from a factory after mixing with other cattle; if this person will have to bear the cost of double transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31373/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The person named presented an animal for slaughter at a meat export plant on 13 October 2005. When a CMMS traceability check was carried out at the factory, it was discovered that an animal with the same tag number had been recorded as having been exported the previous year. A feature of Ireland's traceability system is that each bovine's tag number details are unique. In the circumstances, an investigation was initiated by my Department to ascertain which was the correct animal. Thus, the animal presented at the factory was rejected for slaughter until such time as this investigation was completed.

The investigation found that the animal exported in the previous year was incorrectly recorded on the CMMS system and the rejected animal was cleared for slaughter on 20 October, some seven days later. While it is acknowledged that the person in question was not to blame in this case, my Department had no option but to await the outcome of the investigation before allowing the animal to proceed for slaughter for entry into the food chain. I am satisfied that there was no disease risk from the return of this animal to the farm while the investigation took place. I regret the inconvenience caused to the person named in this case. However, I have a duty to ensure that only cattle whose origin, identity and life history are verified by the traceability system enter the food chain.