Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the call for tenders for the supply of cattle tags will be delayed until a new Government is appointed to afford an opportunity for the Oireachtas committee on agriculture to discuss the merits of both a single supplier approach and a multiple supplier approach and to make a recommendation to him on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8116/16]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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153. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 253 of 6 April 2016, the stakeholders consulted by his Department as part of the consultation with stakeholders in relation to bovine tags; if, in relation to each stakeholder, he or she was in favour of a single supplier or multiple suppliers and the reason given in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8117/16]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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154. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the name of the plastics expert used to evaluate bovine tags supplied as part of the market sounding exercise that was published in December 2015 carried out by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8118/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 to 154, inclusive, together.

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. The current contract for the supply of cattle tags, based on a sole approved supplier, will expire on 31 October 2016.

Following consultation with stakeholders, my Department has made a policy decision to seek a single supplier for provision of the service for the supply of bovine tags. The policy of seeking a single supplier has been endorsed by the main farming organisations (IFA and ICMSA) on the basis that a single supplier, selected on the basis of a competitive tender and benefitting from economies of scale, is likely to make bovine tags available to herd keepers at a competitive price. In contrast, the ICSA expressed a preference for multiple suppliers on the basis of the competition provided between tag suppliers. The Department view is that a single supplier is the optimum mechanism for ensuring that ear tags are made available to Irish farmers at a competitive price while at the same time meeting the identification requirements of the bovine sector in Ireland for superior quality bovine tags. As the Deputy is aware, my Department places a strong reliance on tag suitability, security and tamper evidence to support a secure bovine identification and traceability system that plays a key role in underpinning beef and dairy exports in a competitive marketplace.

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. The RFT will seek a single supplier for the provision of a service to supply a suite of bovine tags including conventional tags, tissue tags (that provide for tissue sampling for BVD and DNA detection), electronic tags and electronic bolus. My Department is obliged to be mindful of the requirements of public procurement law and to publish the RFT within a timeframe that will enable it to award a new contract in time to allow the successful tenderer to make arrangements to enable it to supply the required suite of tags to herd keepers with effect from 1 November 2016. This timeframe could not accommodate the request to delay the competition until a new Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture has had an opportunity to consider the merits of a single supplier and a multiple supplier approach.

In December 2015, my Department published a Market Sounding Exercise in line with public procurement legislation in advance of the publication of the RFT. This notification provided the market with advance notice on the suite of bovine tags required by my Department and afforded interested parties with the opportunity of having feedback on tissue tags in advance of publication of the RFT. No plastics expert was used to evaluate the plastics characteristics of tissue tags in the Market Soundings Exercise. Feedback was provided to all companies who participated in the Market Sounding Exercise. Feedback on the tags covered two very specific areas only, namely tissue sampling/testing efficacy and aspects of tag security which included an assessment carried out by a Veterinary Inspector in my Department’s Investigation Division with considerable experience of dealing with bovine ear tags. The assessment was done on a without prejudice basis to any future public procurement competition. It is open to any company to obtain independent expert advice on the findings communicated by my Department.