Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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234. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why he is, on the tender for the supply of Bovine Identification Tags, insisting on a single supplier framework which will deny farmers the right to chose in who they give their business to upon the basis of price or quality of service; if, in that context he is concerned, that the current tender in its wording discriminates against new entrants and makes it extremely difficult for such new entrants to secure the tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21826/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has confirmed that it has decided to withdraw a Request for Tenders (RFT) seeking a single supplier for the provision of a service to supply a suite of bovine eartags which was published in May. The Department has decided to withdraw the RTF in light of representations received from a number of interested parties. The issues raised had the potential to delay the adjudication of tenders beyond the expiry date of the existing contract.

The Department will now consider the adoption of an approval system which would enable approved suppliers, meeting specified standards and conditions, to supply tags in Ireland for the official bovine ID system. The details of the approval process will be announced shortly.

The new approach, which will permit multiple suppliers to supply eartags, will be based on a robust approval system both of tags and suppliers. Approved suppliers will be required to meet minimum standards relating to the quality of tags, quality of service, issuing of birth registration documents etc. thereby ensuring that there would be no diminution in service standards to Irish livestock farmers.