Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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285. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a yearly detail of all beef imports into Ireland for each of the past five years, providing the volumes and the country of origin; if it was carcass beef or cuts, or other forms of beef; if it was chilled, fresh or frozen; the amount of this beef that was subsequently re-exported; the details of the countries it was re-exported to; the details of those who imported the beef; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5806/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Revenue Commissioners record imports of beef into the country where the imports from an individual company exceed a threshold value of €191,000 per calendar year. This information is collected on behalf of the CSO for statistical purposes only. The totals for 2010-2013 respectively are 40,174 tonnes, 46,137 tonnes, 41,448 tonnes, and 26,030 tonnes. The total for January to November 2014 is 22,061 tonnes. My Department is in discussions with the CSO about the breakdown of those amounts.

Ireland is of course the largest net exporter of beef in the Northern hemisphere and for example, exported some 530,000 tonnes of beef in 2014, compared to imports of approximately 22,000 tonnes.