Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 187: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will clarify the position regarding an entitlement to payment under a herd number (details supplied); if in view of the financial circumstances which are known to officials in his Department regarding this herd number, he will arrange for a resolution to this impasse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15899/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

A herd number is an administrative arrangement designed primarily for the purposes of disease control under the disease eradication schemes, which 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 Department requires the nomination of a "keeper" to be the legal person responsible for animals, whether on a permanent or on a temporary basis, including during transportation or at a market.

With regard to payments under the various schemes implemented by my Department, the position is that because the "keeper" role is classified as a non-financial role and does not infer ownership of the lands or animals in the herd, payments are made to "herdowners" rather than to "keepers". In many cases, both the keeper and the herdowner are one and the same. However, persons, such as family members or spouses, who are not registered as "keepers" but wish to register an interest in the herdnumber, may be registered as "herdowners" and, accordingly, may qualify for payment under these schemes. The person named in the Parliamentary Question is not the Registered Herdowner of the Herd Number referred to. However, my Department's District Veterinary Office is currently engaged in discussions with a family member associated with the herd concerned regarding the "keeper" and "herdowner" roles.