I propose to take Questions Nos. 507, 510 and 511 together.
Official controls and certification provide the necessary assurance to our trading partners that Ireland is as a safe, secure, and sustainable source of agri-food products. In the case of intracommunity movements to and from Ireland and other Member States, the requirements of these trade-related movements and the accompanying official sanitary and phytosanitary certificates are set in EU law and the same rules apply across the EU, including for example the Animal Health Law in the case of live animals and animal products and the Plant Health Law in the case of plants and crops. The controls carried out by officials in my Department are based on the legislation in place, including verification of authenticity at all stages through the food production chain.
As the Deputy is aware, the EU is a single market for food products, and therefore official certification is not required for intracommunity movements of dairy ,dairy products, meat and meat products. It is required for animals and certain animal by-products.
My Department has detailed procedures, guidance and training in place for certifying officers and other officials carrying out regulatory controls along all stages of the food chain, from production and processing through to movement , including the frequency of risk-based controls, and specific conditions of individual certificates.
The IT systems that support official certification are TRACES, my own Department's Export Certification System and Dairy Produce Certification System. There are other systems used for recording a range of trade-related controls and information within my Department, including the Animal Identification and Movement system, and the Agriculture Field and Inspection Testing system.