Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Moran for his presentation. Many of the relevant issues have been raised by members. I have three points. A couple of weeks ago we heard that Russia had placed sanctions on 12 processing plants in Ireland. Have they been lifted? What negotiations are ongoing in that regard?

It arose approximately two years ago during a joint EU scrutiny committee meeting that we already imported beef from the United States. I do not know what the tonnage is; perhaps it is 1,000 tonnes a year. The market may be opened more with a free trade agreement. At the meeting referred to I asked about the testing of beef to ensure it was free of hormones. Will the onus be on the importer to ensure it is hormone free? If it is not, will the Department impose more sanctions ? Instead of testing one in every 100 tonnes, for example, will it test according to a different regime?

The beef industry is in crisis. The Department had no input when the beef grid was drawn up. It was an agreement between the factories and farm organisations. Will the Department try to take some initiative to design a new grid? This would benefit both farmers and processors and would also benefit the retailers who sell on beef. If prices are transparent, everybody is happy. If world markets are depressed owing to the price being paid, we cannot do anything about it. There are so many sanctions in place, including in respect of over-age and under-age animals, and overweight and underweight animals, and various factors associated with the grid. Therefore, we need transparency. I ask the Department to take the lead on this issue.