Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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485. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of unannounced inspections in the 23 meat plants with mechanical grading to date in 2020; the corresponding figure for the nine plants without mechanical grading; the number of instances of factories being instructed to revert to manual classification when a machine was found to be working outside of tolerance; if he will he review the policy of not manually regrading carcasses which have already gone through the mechanical grading machines in advance of identifying a breach of the tolerances; the accuracy rate for conformation and for fat in 2019 and to date in 2020; his plans to review the current legislation which provides for an accuracy rate of 60% when the machines can easily operate at an accuracy rate of 90% for both conformation and fat cover; if he will provide the reference for the legislation in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42721/20]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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486. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the instances of non-compliance with carcase trim specifications his inspectors have identified in beef plants each month to date in 2020; when the names of plants involved will be published; the payments made to the farmer supplier to reflect loss; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42722/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 485 and 486 together.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1184 of 20 April 2017 governs the monitoring of carcase classification, carcase presentation and weighing. To date in 2020, officers from the Carcase Classification Division of my Department have conducted 405 inspections across 32 factories. There were 302 inspections in factories where mechanical classification is carried out and 103 inspections in the nine manual grading factories. Over 36,000 carcasses were inspected. The average number of inspections to date in 2020 per factory was 12 and the average number of carcasses inspected at each inspection was 88. The legal requirement is eight inspections per year and a minimum of 40 carcasses at each inspection. These inspection figures significantly exceed the numbers required under the relevant EU legislation.

These unannounced checks by classification officers verify the on-going accuracy of the automated beef grading methods by using a system of points and limits defined in EU legislation. The mechanical classification method must operate within legally defined tolerances at all times. When any mechanical system is found to be working outside of these tolerances, the meat plants concerned are instructed to revert to manual grading. Farmers are advised through their remittance dockets where manual grading is applied.

The suspension of mechanical grading following an inspection by DAFM occurred on four occasions to date in 2020 and the factories in questions were instructed to revert to manual grading. In all instances, classification officers from my Department conducted a classification check before a factory was allowed to recommence mechanical grading.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1184 of 20 April 2017 sets out the legal tolerances for authorisation of a mechanical classification system. The figure quoted of 60% is the minimum accuracy figure for conformation and fat cover that must be achieved for a mechanical classification system to be authorised for use in any EU state. The average performance for conformation in Ireland in 2019 was 93.3% and 95.1% for fat cover. To date in 2020, average performance for conformation is 93.3% and 95.6% for fat cover.

The role of my Department is clearly defined in the Irish legislation (SI 249/2019) in terms of monitoring and supervision of classification, weights and carcase presentation. This legislation does not provide for any appeal mechanism by the competent authority in relation to the classification of carcasses by mechanical methods.

During these 405 inspections, classification officers also monitored compliance with the EU reference carcase presentation specification. Monitoring of carcase presentation continues to be carried out by my Department's Veterinary Public Health staff based in the factories, on a daily basis.

To date in 2020, one factory has been fined for non-compliance with carcase presentation, details of which will be published on the Department website in due course. Any payments made to a Farmer Supplier, including in relation to issues such as this, are a matter between the Farmer/Supplier and the Processor/plant.