Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed that there will be a financial package to support farmers with the introduction of mandatory electronic identification (EID) for cattle from 2022.

In a statement this afternoon (Monday, August 9) the minister said that the time is "opportune to introduce mandatory bovine EID".

"This decision recognises advancements in the international marketplace and seeks to take advantage of newer technologies to enhance and future-proof the Irish bovine traceability system," the minister said.

"Such a system can eliminate tag reading errors and bring greater efficiency to animal handling on farms and at other handling points.

"The information collated on the Animal Identification and Movement System [AIMS] provides a high degree of assurance to consumers in these markets on the traceability and food safety of bovine animals including beef and dairy products."

The minister said that the introduction will "deliver substantial improvements in the bovine identification system for farmers, livestock marts, slaughter plants, export assembly centres and veterinarians", along with a "safer working environment for all stakeholders with less reliance on manual checking of bovine tag numbers".

"Herd keepers and livestock marts will save time that is currently involved in making amendment applications associated with misreading of animals and mismatched passports when cattle are moving off the holding," the minister added.

Bovine EID will be implemented in two stages, as outlined below:

Minster McConalogue went on to indicate that the department “is currently working on a tag subvention scheme to assist herd keepers in offsetting the additional cost of the EID tag, the details of which will be announced as soon as it is finalised”.

The minister concluded by urging cattle herd keepers, in the context of the new regime, to use up all existing stocks of non-EID tags prior to July 1, 2022.