Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in today and for the presentation. It is timely that we are having this meeting. We have had representations from the Irish Charolais Cattle Society before and I met its president at the National Ploughing Championships. It is an issue that is exercising farmers, beef farmers in particular, throughout the country so it is appropriate that we have this session and that we have the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, in afterwards as well to discuss and tease out the issues that are being raised.

There is no doubt that from a financial perspective the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, is a disappointment and a poor replacement for the one that went before it which was the suckler cow welfare scheme, which farmers found involved less red tape and was more financially rewarding. That is also shown by the take-up in the scheme which is behind in the projected participant numbers and by the fact that many farmers have not engaged in it because they feel that, financially, it is not worth their while.

Having said that, the objective of the scheme is to improve the genetic make-up of the beef herd and to improve profitability for beef farmers. That is its stated objective and to do it in a way that reduces the carbon footprint. Those in themselves are worthy objectives but the witnesses have raised issues in the way the star grading operates and the volatility around that. This needs to be explored further. It is important to deal with those issues which are of concern to farmers and the pedigree and beef organisations. What is coming through very clearly is the fact that communication between the witnesses, the Department and the ICBF has left a lot to be desired. When a scheme is being looked at and widespread involvement is sought, all the stakeholders need to be part of that and there should not be a cloud over the objectives or people's engagement in the scheme.

Has the Irish Charolais Cattle Society had much feedback and engagement with other pedigree beef societies and associations? Is that feedback similar to the society's experience? What level of engagement has the society had with farming organisations and their perspective on the scheme vis-à-visthe society's perspective?

I would be interested in getting further feedback from the mart point of view as well. Ms De Vere Hunt is the manager of Cashel Mart. What is her perspective on it and what has she seen in terms of buyers around the ring? What impact has the reduction in grades had and what is the feedback from buyers?

What is the understanding of the meat industry's perspective on it and the market to which we are selling this? What is the market saying in terms of what is being sought and how the type of cattle that are being produced are feeding the market? Deputy Cahill outlined the prices he was getting for Friesian cows and the premium that is available in the market. I am interested in the witnesses' perspective on that.

In terms of feedback on the price and profitability from the pedigree Charolais sector and the price for beef bulls, how have the witnesses seen the BDGP having an impact on the price and profitability of the pedigree sector itself? I take the point on cross-bred bulls being used and being part of this. I would be interested in hearing that fleshed out further. Often in breeding, pedigree herds are crucial and key flame carriers, so to speak, in the quality of our beef herds and genetics, but there is also the dynamic in breeding of cross-bred vigour, which is why different breeds are crossed. I mention the impact of the sire being cross-bred on the beef herd and what is being produced. I would be interested in getting the witnesses' perspective further on that.

While there is no doubt that the Charolais is an exceptionally fine animal which has contributed massively to our beef herd and continues to do so, it is also undoubtedly the case that the feedback from farmers and what we are seeing on this scheme is that it is leading to us tracing our steps backwards. Whereas we have seen the size of cattle grow over recent years and the quality of cattle improve massively, this is going in the opposite direction and is going against the trend, the teaching and the professional advice that would have been available and which Irish agriculture and beef agriculture would have been following. My understanding of the concept behind the beef data genomics programme is that it is to produce beef at a price per kilo which means that farmers get a higher profit. That may mean that cattle may not be as big but the idea is that from the maternal side, they are better milk producers, possibly smaller cows that eat less, and therefore the carbon footprint is less as a result. I know some of the witnesses are shaking their heads but I am putting this to them in terms of what is being said and that that is part of the concept behind the BDGP scheme. Ultimately, it is supposed to mean that whenever farmers are selling their animals, they make more profit. I am interested in the witnesses' feedback on that as a concept. Do they feel that is something which stands up or is it a regressive argument from a beef and farmer point of view?