Mr. Cormac Healy:

If Senator Mulherin looks at lamb prices in recent years, particularly this year to date, she will see the price has been very strong and is on an upward trend. The maximum price is being returned to producers. The performance of meat plants in the earlier part of this year is not one that allows the owners to sleep well at night because it was a very high priced market. One of the problems with this is that it creates a challenge on the retail shelf in terms of whether consumers opt for lamb or not. The price is being delivered for farmers, as is evident from the price this year to date and the upward trend in prices in recent years.