Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of rare indigenous breeds of cattle that have been identified by her Department; the measures in place to protect these breeds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28919/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is very aware of the need to conserve rare indigenous breeds of cattle and actively participates in conservation programmes at National, EU and International levels. Conservation of rare breeds of farm animals is crucial in achieving sustainability of livestock production.

There are three native rare breeds of cattle in Ireland, namely the Kerry Cattle, Irish Moiled and Dexter. The approximate current number of breeding females (actively producing offspring) in Ireland are as follows:

Kerry — 1100

Irish Moiled — 50

Dexter — <100My Department supports on-farm conservation of genetics resources in a number of ways.REPS 4 contains a voluntary Supplementary Measure that rewards farmers who keep native cattle breeds (Kerry, Irish Moiled and Dexter). A payment of €234 per livestock unit is paid to farmers under the scheme. My Department also operates the Kerry Cattle Preservation Grant Scheme, whereby a grant of €76 is paid per live eligible calf. The objective of the scheme is to encourage the maintenance and development of Kerry Cattle in Ireland.National conservation of endangered rare breeds is also supported in other ways. Approximately €150,000 of Exchequer funding has been allocated to projects that assist with the conservation of rare indigenous cattle breeds. Examples of this work includes the collection of semen from Kerry bulls, the development of a website for the Kerry Cattle breed society (to provide information and increase awareness of the breed), and the development of a long-term conservation strategy for Kerry Cattle. More recently, funding has been provided for the collection of semen from Irish Moiled bulls. The collection of semen from rare breeds is globally recognised as an important and low cost way of conserving animal genetic resources.Ireland has also availed of funding from two EU Programmes to assist with the conservation of genetic resources — the 1994 and 2004 programmes. Under the most recent programme my Department secured approximately €20,000 to assist in the development of a national inventory of animal genetic resources. This web-based database contains important population and breed data on all of Ireland's domestic animal genetic resources, including native cattle breeds.Internationally my Department also participates in conservation activities for animal genetic resources, particularly through the Food and Agriculture Organisation. In September 2007 Ireland, along with 109 countries, adopted a Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, the first internationally agreed framework to halt the erosion of livestock diversity and support the sustainable use, development and conservation of animal genetic resources. Development of national conservation policies to preserve our native animal breeds will take full cognisance of the policies in this Global Plan.>