Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has welcomed the lifting of the requirement for compulsory mask-wearing at livestock marts from next Monday (February 28).
The removal of this requirement is in line with a further relaxation of public health guidelines announced by government this week.
This means that there will no longer be specific rules relating to Covid-19 for marts from next week.
In a statement today (Wednesday, February 23), Minister McConalogue again paid tribute to the efforts of mart staff and farmers in keeping marts operational throughout the pandemic.
“Mart managers and their staff, as well as buyers and sellers of livestock, have shown tremendous resilience, agility and resourcefulness during the pandemic in dealing with the challenges of Covid-19 while continuing to trade online and at the ring,” he said.
The minister added: “Marts showed a remarkable ability to completely evolve their selling practices to meet the challenges posed by Covid-19.”
“Buyers have returned to the ring, while online sales are continuing as part of a blended approach,” he said.
“I’m convinced that the efforts of farmers and marts, adhering to the Covid-19 measures, have undoubtedly played a role in minimising and reducing the threat of Covid-19 in our communities while protecting Ireland’s food security.
“I admire and respect the efforts of marts and their customers to keep each other safe while keeping the wheels of our sector turning,” Minister McConalogue added.
He highlighted that the risk of Covid-19 still remains in communities, and for that reason the minister called on “all farmers and mart staff to continue to take heed of the public health advice and be mindful of others as we move into this new phase”.
In 2021, Minister McConalogue provided grants totalling €233,695 to 61 marts to fund information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure to support online sales.
Cattle throughput at marts increased from around 1.53 million in 2020 to around 1.84 million in 2021, despite the challenges of the pandemic.