Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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1410. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to confirm whether his Department has conducted an independent risk analysis prior to designating an organisation (details supplied) as third-party breeding programme providers under Article 8.4(b) of EU Regulation 2016/1012; and, if so, to provide a copy of that analysis. [57895/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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1412. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department treats EU Regulation 2016/1012 and S.I. 227/2021 as binding legislation; and the means by which his Department ensures full compliance with the regulatory safeguards outlined in Article 8.4(b) regarding conflicts of interest. [57897/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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1418. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the governance structures that are in place to ensure that the designation of third-party breeding programme providers under EU Regulation 2016/1012 is free from conflicts of interest; and whether his Department intends to review or revise these structures in light of recent concerns raised by breeders. [57903/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1410, 1412 and 1418 together.

The Animal Breeding Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 provides a single EU legal framework for the rules applicable to the breeding, trade and entry into the Union of breeding animals of the bovine, porcine, ovine, caprine and equine species and their germinal products and is applicable throughout the EU. The Statutory Instrument, S.I. 227/2021, transposes certain provisions regarding this Regulation into National law.

Article 8 (4) of the Regulations refers to cases where a breed society may avail of the option to outsource specific technical activities to a third party as part of their breeding programme. Where a breed society makes a decision to outsource certain technical activities, they must specify in their application for approval of their breeding programme those outsourced activities and the name and contact details of the third party service providers. As part of the approval process and with regard to Article 8 (4) (b) the breed society submits a signed 'Service Level Agreement' (SLA) between the third party and the breed society which includes a declaration from both parties confirming there is no conflict of interest between the third party and the Society.