Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed that €1.7m has been paid out to farmers in year one of the three-year EID tag subsidy scheme.

The scheme pays farmers up to €100 to assist them in the move to the mandatory electronic tagging of calves which was introduced in July 2022. No application is needed for payment to issue.

Farmers receive a €1 subsidy for each set of electronic tags purchased under the scheme, up to a maximum of €100 in total over the three years.

Minister McConalogue has stated that the introduction of mandatory EID tagging will improve consumer trust in the Irish agri-food sector, as well as benefitting farmers, factories and vets.

"It will deliver a substantial improvement in the bovine identification system for farmers, livestock marts, slaughter plants, export assembly centres and veterinarians,” the minister said.

“This initiative aligns with and supports the Food Vision 2030 objective that Ireland will become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems, enhancing consumer trust in our food systems.

Further, it will lead to a safer working environment for all stakeholders, with less reliance on manual checking of bovine tag numbers, and herd keepers and livestock marts will save time in the event of misread animals or mismatched passports."