Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me finish. Deputy Cahill made reference to 30-month BSE restrictions. We have to export and find a home for nine out of every ten cattle that we produce and we try to negotiate the best possible deal that we can. It involves constant engagement with veterinary authorities in other states. We have, most recently, improved the veterinary certification requirement with Libya and that will enable us to export cattle in greater numbers there. Some of this is part of the legacy of BSE. Some of it, in terms of our retail partners, is a consumer preference issue. We are constantly trying, and work with the sector, to get the best possible market access terms but we must work with the other member states.

Deputy Cahill also made reference to a period of 30 months in the context of late-maturing breeds. In a way, if one takes 30 months to finish a beef animal, one is losing money anyway, with the exception of cow beef, as 30-month beef production is not efficient. We need to drive efficiency in the sector and part of that pertains to the €250 million we are providing under the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, for example, as well as the additional €20 million that is forthcoming for the weanling scheme. We are doing a lot in the area. It is not an easy space. I accept it is a challenge in terms of the returns but I tend to be somebody who operates on the basis of the glass half-full rather than the glass half-empty. In respect of the issues that confront us, I have worked on how we can target resources to those who are most in need. As for credentials, to have put €8 million into areas of natural constraints, to have introduced a new scheme on beef and to have introduced the hen harrier scheme within two years is not bad.