2676. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason ante mortem injuries in the slaughterhouse are only collated locally and are not collated by his Department on a national basis; the body that collates these ante mortem injuries; where this information is kept and if it is available; if the data is not available, the reason this is the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60598/26]

Data on ante-mortem injuries are collated locally at each slaughterhouse by my Department as this is where the information is required for the purposes of regulation of those subject to the legislation and the implementation of enforcement action, if warranted.

Should it be determined that injuries identified by my Department have resulted from a breach of animal welfare regulations on transport or regulations on the protection of animals at the time of killing, the official veterinarian at the slaughterhouse is responsible for initiating enforcement action against the transporter, the herd/flock owner or the food business operator of the slaughterhouse, as appropriate.

While data on all ante mortem injuries are not collated at a regional or national level, records of enforcement actions that result in Non-compliance Reports or Compliance Notices are collated by the Regional Superintending Veterinary Inspectors at a regional level.