The introduction of electronic identification (EID) tagging for cattle will be “inevitable”, according to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

Speaking at a pre-budget Oireachtas committee hearing on Tuesday 2 October, Minister Creed said: “It is inevitable because it is the best available technology that it will become the identification process for the bovine sector.”

The minister did not provide details on a timeline for the introduction of bovine EID tagging.

Cost

However, given the concern over the cost of the introduction of EID tagging for sheep next year, he stated that the cost of the more expensive tag system would not be as big an issue to cattle farmers.

“Relatively speaking in respect of a bovine carcase as opposed to a sheep carcase, it will be more affordable in the context of the value of the carcase,” Minister Creed said.

Sheep EID

Mandatory EID tagging for sheep from 1 June 2019 has proved controversial since its announcement earlier this year.

The minister defended the introduction for EID for the sheep sector, and insisted that his Department had to act on a report from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

“I don’t anybody would defend the existing system as fit for purpose,” the minister said.

“The game changer was when the Food Safety Authority said that it wasn’t fit for purpose.

“I’ve always acknowledged that there was a cost but there was also a cost of doing nothing.

“I don’t think it was ever an option not to respond to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.”

Minister Creed said that he believed his Department had found a “reasonable response”, by increasing the level of support available for farmers buying tags up to €100 as a once-off support.

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