Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person who buys a 5-star rated bull could find that in subsequent years the star rating of the same animal has been reduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39855/15]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is any guarantee that 5-star rated bulls in artificial insemination catalogues will retain this star rating in future; the effect it could have on farmers if it was subsequently found out that artificial insemination bulls had been over-rated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39856/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 106 together.

The purpose of the BDGP is to bring about long-term strategic improvements to the beef breeding sector by substantially improving the overall genetic quality of the national beef herd. A robust and reliable replacement index, built specifically for Irish animals and production systems, on which farmers can make informed breeding decisions, is an essential element of the drive to meet these goals.

The Eurostar index has been developed by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, which is a co-operative involving livestock industry stakeholders, including farm bodies, with the assistance of Teagasc. The genotyping requirement within the BDGP will improve the reliability of the breeding indexes and increase the availability of 4 & 5 star animals.

The collection of additional information across the entire herd, including the genomic data, will also contribute to more reliable Euro-Star evaluations. The cattle breeding industry in Ireland is very accustomed to genetic evaluations moving over time, as more data accumulates.

For the purposes of the BDGP, a stock bull which is genotyped four or five star at the time of purchase will remain eligible for the scheme, even if subsequently downgraded on the eurostar index.