Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I forgot at the start to relay apologies from Deputy McConalogue who is unavoidably absent today. I want to ask one other question and then go back on a few of the answers I got from the delegation. Does Bord Bia have any concerns about zero-grazing with the larger herds on the dairy side and the higher proportion of indoor feeding especially as it affects the taste of butter, which attracts a premium especially on the German market?

I asked a specific question on whether the Bord Bia budget is adequate to cater for the challenges Brexit will present. The witnesses spoke about the additional resources Bord Bia had taken on. It does not answer my question as to whether the budget is adequate. If we had more resources, could we do more to reduce our dependence on the UK market?

A point was made about quality assurance and the different add-ons there are to qualify for premium. The reality is that processors are using quality assurance as a marketing tool. They are being disingenuous to farmers in not paying a premium for all animals coming from farms that are quality assured. In some cases only 30% or 35% of the animals coming from a farm are getting the premium even though all the meat would be marketed as quality assured. That issue needs to be addressed.

Of the money Bord Bia spends on the beef side, what percentage is devoted to live exports? As a promotional body, what is Bord Bia's view on the consequences for our sales in foreign markets of the proposed health warning on drinks?

There is one other point on which I felt I did not get a satisfactory answer. How can we determine the value of the fifth quarter, which will have an increasing value owing to much of the work Bord Bia has done? How can producers be sure the proper price is being paid? That fifth quarter is increasing in value all the time, but it is very hard to get a handle on it.