Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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359. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department have tendered for the provision of the tissue sampling kit for the beef data programme and the beef genomics programme; the estimated value of this contract; if it was not tendered for, the reason this was not required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28258/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In the development of the Beef Genomics Scheme my Department had a number of options in relation to the extraction of genetic material from cattle, namely i) swabs, ii) hair or iii) tissue tags. The decision was taken to proceed with tissue tagging option on the basis that it is the most scientifically robust with the lowest error rate compared to the other two options as well as being the activity being most familiar to farmers.

My Department requested the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) to facilitate the implementation of the Scheme. This reflects the ICBF’s position as the only body approved in Ireland under EU legislation (Commission Decision 2006/427/EC) to carry out testing, genetic evaluation and publication of breeding values for Irish dairy and beef cattle. The EU legislation states “all data must be recorded under the responsibility of the approved body”. This legislation lays down performance monitoring methods and methods for accessing cattle’s genetic value for purebred breeding animals of the bovine species to be operated in Member States.

As my Department has an existing contract for the provision of tags, including conventional tags, electronic tags and tissue tags, the procurement of tissue tags for the purposes of implementation of the 2014 BGS is covered by this arrangement. The contract for supply of these tags is effective from 1 November 2012 to 31 October 2014 but as the details of the contract are commercially sensitive I am not in a position to comment on it. I am pleased to say however that the 2014 BGS is progressing very well with almost 100,000 samples returned from farmers to date.

The ICBF has a proven track record in this country in relation to large scale genetic evaluation projects, for example, the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) for dairy cattle. This programme was developed between the ICBF and Teagasc and is the key profit driver for dairy farmers, and was designed to suit our unique spring calving production systems. It is hoped that through the BGS and the development of an Economic Breeding Index (EBI) for beef cattle there will be a similar impact on profitability in the beef sector

The BGS in 2014 has an allocation of €23 million and is funded by the Exchequer. The purpose of the scheme is to build a training population for the genetic evaluation of the Irish beef herd. It is intended to follow on from this measure with a new programme called the “Beef Data and Genomics Programme” co-funded by the European Union (EU) under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020. This scheme will support the application of genomic technology to the suckler herd and bring a new level of quality for all animals (bulls, cows, steers and heifers) into Irish beef herds.

All of these measures are continued evidence of the Government’s financial support for the national suckler herd, which is a vital element of the Irish beef industry, and will allow the sector to achieve the targets set out in Food Harvest 2020.