Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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253. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will seek tenders for the supply of cattle tags; if he will advertise this again as a single supplier tender or as a multiple approved supplier tender; the reason he is following this practice, given that many other European Union states advertise it as a multiple supplier tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5398/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The current contract for the supply of cattle tags, based on a sole approved supplier, will expire on 31 October 2016. Public procurement competitions for the supply of bovine tags are arranged on a periodic basis which facilitates developments in technology, level of service and competition. My Department will shortly be publishing a Request for Tenders (RFT) for the provision of a new contract for a three year term that will commence on 1 November 2016. Following consultation with stakeholders my Department has again made a policy decision to seek a single supplier for provision of the service for the supply of bovine tags. A single supplier is deemed to be the optimum approach to meeting the identification requirements of the bovine sector in Ireland for superior quality bovine tags that meet the high standards needed to support a secure bovine identification and traceability system. This approach also ensures that tags are made available to herd keepers at a competitive price with a single supplier benefitting from economies of scale.

The RFT published by the Department will comply with the requirements in procurement legislation for a competitive tender.