The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that negotiations on draft European Commission animal transport proposals are “likely to be a slow process”.
Department officials also told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last evening (Wednesday, April 24) that much more clarity will be needed before any agreement can be reached.
Dr. Lorna Meaney, senior superintending veterinary inspector with DAFM, said that the proposals present “a lot of challenges” for Ireland in their current form.
Although the department was supportive of modernising existing regulations, she stressed that this must not disadvantage the access of Irish family farms to the EU single market.
Animal transport
The commission proposals would see a minimum age of five weeks and minimum weight 50kg for unweaned calves to be transported.
There will also be a journey of nine hours maximum for animals transported for slaughter under these proposals.
The commission said that the proposals will ensure that travel times will be shortened and during long journeys, animals must be unloaded for periods of rest, feeding and watering.
However, the draft regulations have caused major concerns about the potential impact on Ireland’s live exports.
“There are significant areas in the proposal where greater clarity is required – areas such as the mechanism for approval of feeding systems for unweaned calves; certification bodies and how they will be approved; the scope of the proposals on space allowance and vertical height/headroom and whether they apply to both long and short journeys.
“These issues will no doubt be clarified once discussions on the proposals get underway,” Meaney said.
“If enacted as currently written and to the extent that we understand their intent, the proposals would impact significantly on current arrangements in relation to transport of animals across the union,” she added.
The committee heard that the department is engaging with commission officials, along with other member states to discuss concerns.
“Our focus will be on seeking to deliver legislation that ensures high welfare intracommunity transport and trade in animals and also the export of animals outside the Union,” she said.
The department is engaging with farming bodies, marts and industry through the Calf Stakeholder Forum, as well as live export associations.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has also written to European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides to outline Ireland “key strategic concerns”.
DAFM
Dr. Meaney stressed that this is still a draft proposal and is unlikely to be progressed until the Hungary takes over the EU presidency in the autumn.
“This text will now be subject to interinstitutional scrutiny in the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure, which will take many months before a final text is agreed and passes into EU law,” Meaney said.
The committee heard that the department will be preparing a full financial impact assessment of the proposals on Ireland.
Cathaoirleach of the committee Deputy Jackie Cahill raised concerns about the economic viability for exporters if space allocation for animals on lorries is changed.
He also questioned the practicality of feeding milk replacer to calves during transport, rather than electrolytes.
The department officials said that there is considerable scientific debate on this issue.