Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 October 2025
259. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of slaughterhouses currently licensed to perform halal slaughter; the proportion of national beef, lamb, and poultry output certified as halal; and the extent to which these products are distributed for domestic consumption rather than export. [55686/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has an approval system for all slaughter plants but does not specifically licence slaughter plants to perform halal slaughter. The Halal certification process is a commercial arrangement between food businesses and Halal Certification Organisations.
There is current EU and Irish legislation in place for the protection of animals at the time of slaughter. The legislation requires animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered. However, slaughter of animals without prior stunning, as prescribed by religious rites, is also permitted under the EU legislation, under derogation, and is carried out in a very limited number of slaughter plants.
My Department is not involved in the halal certification of meat, or in monitoring the relative amounts of such meat that is used for domestic consumption.
