Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Cotter for his presentation. Earlier he said there has been a lot of speculation about Brexit but nobody knows what will happen over the next three or four years. Is it fair to say that for beef, and for next year and probably the year after, that we can handle 27,000 or 28,000 killing cattle a week? In general, when production goes higher than that the price drops. People have speculated about the sterling exchange rate. Three years ago €1 was worth 74p sterling and today it is worth 85p sterling and cattle were €3.50 per lb. We can get beef into Britain at a higher price. When Irish cattle are sent to factories in England they are 10p per lb less because of the red tractor. Part of Bord Bia's job is to attract more market but I would like to hear the opinion of the witnesses on the following. There has been a large increase in cow numbers in the dairy sector. Will that place more pressure on the beef sector? One of the largest exporters in the South of Ireland, and I am thinking of Cork Co-operative Marts, has announced that it may not enter the market next year. Is that a worrying trend? Factories in the west have killed heavier Friesian cattle but they have said that they are not fond of doing so. Is there anything that we can do to export more Friesian sucklers at a younger age?

I agree with the comments made by previous speakers that animals reared on grass are superior. Is there anything that we can do to simplify the system for farmers to ensure their animals are kept in the Bord Bia system?

The witnesses mentioned staff earlier. In the past few days I read the announcement that Bord Bia will get a fund from Europe to attract new markets. Is that correct? How much staff does Bord Bia need in order for Irish products to reach all of the markets? The Chinese market has been mentioned. We are moving a step closer to the Chinese market. We must ensure that we nail down the available markets. The wind has blown with us this year because there has been an outbreak of Blue Tongue disease in Turkey and it has also caused problems in France. Does Bord Bia envisage there will be a problem with the extra amount of Friesians in the dairy sector? Does Bord Bia envisage that the extra Friesians will have an impact on the beef sector in Ireland? I presume Bord Bia would recommend an increase in the number of live exports since we have not increased the capacity of our kills of beef cattle.