Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has told the Dáil that he is considering introducing mandatory electronic identification (EID) tagging for cattle.

“I am mindful of developments internationally where many competitor countries are now moving towards the use of EID in their cattle populations,” Minister Creed said in response to a parliamentary question from Willie Penrose TD.

Minister Creed said that EID tags accounted for roughly 10% of the market of overall cattle tags last year, and Mullinahone Co-op stated there has been a steady increase in demand for EID tags, especially from dairy farmers for drafting and calf-rearing systems.

However, the increased cost of tags has been raised as an issue by ICMSA farm and rural affairs chair Denis Drennan.

“EID tags cost around €1 more per set, and if this just makes life easier for factories or vets, why should farmers have to fund that?” Drennan said.

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