Mr. Patrick Kent:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the crisis facing the beef sector at present.

We must begin by emphasising just how serious this is and what the knock-on implications are for the suckler sector. It is disappointing enough to see the steer price back 13% compared to its peak of last summer. It is a big problem for winter finishers to see the price weakening over the costly winter months.

However, the real disaster relates to the young bull beef price. Young U3 bulls are on average back 21% in price since last summer. However, the average U-grade bull price neither even begins to tell the story of how the goalposts have been moved in terms of specification nor tells the story of the immense pressure being put on winter finishers, who are being treated with contempt and who cannot get cattle killed when they need to. Overnight, the bull over 16 months is apparently no longer wanted. Maximum carcass weight has been reduced, in some cases to as low as 380 kg. Bulls a day over 24 months are worth considerably less than old cows.

The impact on the suckler trade is potentially devastating. Suckler farmers producing top-of-the-range continental bull weanlings cannot continue unless there are viable markets for this type of stock. Live exports are vital but on their own, they are not enough. How can we expect Irish finishers to have confidence to bid for €1,000 euro weanlings when specifications are being changed at the drop of a hat? How can a finisher take advantage of grass to grow the bull a bit at low cost, and then get these cattle killed at 16 months and at a maximum of 380 kg, and make a profit, especially as the Irish U-grade bull beef price in February was a full 25% behind the equivalent Italian price?

It is important to emphasise that it is the top-quality suckler producer who is most affected by this. These are the farmers who have invested heavily in breeding growthy, lean continental cattle. These are the suckler farmers who face the challenges of more hard calvings and higher costs. These are the farmers who are barely breaking even at best.

I anticipate that the publication by Teagasc of the results from all profit monitors completed under beef technology adoption programme, BTAP, will be a real wake-up call. Already we know from our members' anecdotes just how poor suckler returns are when they have completed the profit monitor.

It is now clear that the Food Harvest 2020 targets for beef are complete pie in the sky. While it is positive that the Minister has been energetic in developing new international export markets, the reality is that farmers are seeing no benefit from this at present. Farmers feel frustrated that there seems to be no great appreciation of the bull beef crisis. They are paying significant levies on cattle that are slaughtered and are asking how this can be afforded in a sector that is showing losses.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, has come here today to impress on members that this is a real crisis for the industry we represent. There is a strong feeling that the Minister is not taking it seriously enough. We can hide for the time being behind the overall agrifood exports figures for 2013 but the reality is that 2013 will not be repeated in the beef sector. The ICSA wants action on the beef crisis and I will now hand over to the ICSA beef chairman, Mr. Edmond Phelan.