Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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817. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the increase in the theft of cattle in the north Monaghan area that appears to be linked to cross border criminality; his views on the effectiveness of the Cattle Movement Monitoring System in view of the dangers of stolen livestock entering the food chain; if he is satisfied that there is appropriate cross border cooperation to deal with cattle theft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27624/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Any incident involving stolen cattle should be reported to the Garda Siochana in the first instance as the Gardai have primary responsibility for investigating such matters. Stolen cattle cannot be traded legally in the State as all bovines must bear official ear tags, be properly registered and be located on this Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database in the herd of the individual moving or selling the bovine. When cattle are reported as stolen to my Department they are marked on the AIM database as being stolen on foot of a Garda report. If these animals are presented anywhere in the State for sale, slaughter or export they are checked against the database and will be rejected at these outlets and an investigation initiated.

Where necessary this Department through the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), may assist the Gardai with their investigations into cases of stolen animals and this could involve liaison with cross border colleagues. In this regard a cross border liaison Group comprising the relevant investigation bodies, including the SIU, is currently assessing the theft of animals on an all Ireland basis.