Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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1709. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware of allegations made to his Department on 15 April 2024, of sheep semen being brought from England to Ireland which was not registered through the required EU TRACES system; if this allegation was investigated; and if so, the outcome of that investigation and will he provide an update on the matter. [19484/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the alleged illegal importation of sheep semen from England. I can confirm that my Department has conducted an investigation into the matter, and while the Department does not normally comment on outcome of individual investigations, I can assure the Deputy that any non-compliant activities were dealt with appropriately and necessary actions were taken to protect the health of the national herd.

Germinal products (semen, embryos, ova) must only be imported into Ireland from approved Germinal Product Establishments. In addition, they must be accompanied by Health Certificates and must be registered on TRACES as per EU Regulations.

My Department have issued an information note to the media and breed societies including Sheep Ireland and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association on the requirements for the importation of ovine germinal products. The information note is available on Gov.ie.