Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 422: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the position in relation to farmers with joint herd numbers with their spouses, parents, siblings and so on who received correspondence from her Department requesting them to appoint one contact name as keeper of the herd in case of problems in order that they would have one contact name; the location this directive came from; the person who authorised to contact all joint herd numbers with this request; what will happen when they sell to the mart, factory, shipping and so on and not her Department; if the cheques are made out to the name on the card will the other herd-owner be able to cash or lodge this cheque to their own account even though the cheque is not made out to them; if this will not be possible the way she will solve this problem for farmers who are joint herd owners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42392/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

A herd number is an administrative arrangement in place since the early 1950s and designed primarily for the purposes of disease control under the disease eradication schemes. The current legislative framework involves the allocation of a number to a herd as provided for under S.I. No. 276 of 1999 (European communities (Identification and registration of bovine animals) Regulations, 1999). The traditional term "herd-owner", which required the nomination of one person in respect of the herd in the 1989 TB Order, has been substituted by the term "keeper" which is defined in Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 as any natural or legal person responsible for animals, whether on a permanent or on a temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market. In effect, the "keeper" is the person who is to be the initial point of contact in regard to animal inspections, testing, identification, records etc. to sign movement documents passports of animal(s) and to be deemed legally responsible for the day to day care and welfare of the animals. The keeper also has responsibility to notify the database of animal births, deaths and movements, to keep the herd register and to sign certain documents such as the animal passport when the keeper takes possession of an animal.

My Department, as a matter of policy, when issuing a herd number registers one individual person as the "keeper" of the animals. The designation of more than one person as "keeper" would lead to general confusion, possible denial of responsibility, duplication of communication to all named parties, difficulties in supply of identification tags and documents and difficulties in prosecutions, all of which could delay immediate action in relation to the prevention of the spread of animal disease and the protection of animal welfare.

With regard to correspondence received by the person concerned from my Department, the position is that in a recent effort to align Department computer systems, to regularise records and to bring the terminology more into line with the EU regulations, in cases where multiple persons had been recorded and no single person was nominated as keeper, my Department issued a request to farmers to nominate one person as keeper for the herd.

The registration of a person as keeper does not infer ownership of the lands or animals in the herd. When multiple persons, a company, or an institution wish to register an interest in the herd number, they are registered as "herd-owners". There is no legal obligation on each and every person who may have an interest in the herd number to so register but those who do are asked to nominate the keeper. Indeed those persons on the Department's records registered as "herd-owners" may or may not be the legal or beneficial owners of the animals tested under the particular herd number as would for instance be the case where animals are boarded in a herd on a fee/head/day basis. Ownership is a civil matter and it is not within the competence or remit of the Department to keep records of or determine legal ownership or beneficial interest in individual animals.

With regard to the position of persons who have a beneficial interest in the herd but who are not registered as keepers, such persons may register their interest in the herd as "herd-owners" through Form ER1.1 and, accordingly, qualify for payment under the various schemes implemented by my Department. In this regard, I should emphasise that the "keeper" role is classified as a non-financial role and payments are only made to those who have registered as "herd-owners".

With regard to the issue of payment by marts, factories etc., since inclusion of a name on a cattle identity card does not denote ownership of an animal, the question of payment by the mart or factory is a civil/commercial matter between the owners of animals and the factory and it is advisable that with regard to the selling of animals to third parties, joint owners of animals have a formal arrangement in place with marts, factories etc. regarding the payment for these animals.

In view of the fact that this policy has been in place for many years, I have asked my Department to have it reviewed.