Mr. Joe Burke:

Right. Over the last month or six weeks, processors have increased to approximately 6,500 their weekly throughput of young bulls. The majority of those bulls would not be under 16 months of age. If they were under that age, they would meet the specifications of our more valuable customers or outlets - the UK retailers. The facts are there. As the Deputy has said, the average price of young bulls has fallen by 15% so far this year, by comparison with the same period last year. The price achieved by steers, which are obviously seen as a premium, higher quality or more attractive product, has fallen by less than 5% over the same period. They are still lower than last year. It is difficult for Bord Bia to convince customers to change their specifications. In some cases, specifications work in our favour. Mr. Cotter mentioned that many continental European customers are prepared to pay a higher price for Irish steer beef, as part of their preferred ideal purchasing conditions, even though they have access to plenty of bull beef that is produced domestically or in other lower-cost producing countries. Obviously, this works against producers, such as the producer described by Deputy Deering, who have animals like older bulls that do not meet those specifications, unfortunately. It has to be said that in many cases, the specifications do not relate directly to eating quality. Many other factors, such as the size of the cut, can come into play. In the UK market, the specifications relate to the young bulls produced in that country, the vast majority of which are under 16 months of age in order to qualify to meet customer requirements.