Mr. Vincent Roddy:

I will comment on the queries raised by Senator Mulherin and Deputies Corcoran Kennedy and Martin Kenny. Mr. Joyce will cover the points made in the other three contributions.

I was delighted to hear Senator Mulherin talk about the impact on suckler cow farmers. I am aware that the discussion has mainly been about beef production, but sometimes the suckler cow farmer who is the primary producer is lost in the debate. They are the farmers we represent and highlighting the impact on them is critical. Deputy Eamon Ryan referred to the consumer, but I would also look at businesses in rural Ireland and the people employed in them. They need to understand the important role played by farmers, including suckler cow farmers. Deputy McConalogue said that if suckler cow farmers were to stop farming, they would not actually lose out, that it would be the businesses revolving around farming that would lose out. It is important that members of the committee and others get that point across. With the local and European Parliament elections coming up, the point needs to be got across by Deputies and Senators that farmers will do the best they can.

Senator Mulherin also spoke about the co-operatives. I, too, have heard it said we need to get the co-ops involved in the beef industry. I understand this will not be easy, but I am not saying it should not happen. It is the best option, but it would definitely need to be farmer-led through farmer owned co-ops. There is no easy fix in that regard. I do not have an answer today. I have, however, heard what the Senator has had to say on the issue.

Deputy Martin Kenny referred to the family farm model. I also believe we sometimes lose sight of it. The CAP supports the family farm model. Deputy Fitzmaurice spoke about the average CAP payment and the payments made historically. We cannot ever accept that the children of farmers, or in some cases their grandchildren, will be paid in 2027 or 2030 based on what may have been done in 2010. That is wrong and that model has to go. We need to make sure the family farm will be protected. The farms in the parts of Ireland we represent are family farms. We represent smaller suckler cow farmers, sheep farmers and so on.

Deputy Martin Kenny also referred to beef production. Our beef is grass-fed beef, but it is also produced in a bio-diverse manner. This is a subject about which we have also talked and my colleague Mr. Joyce might speak more about it. It is a pity Deputy Eamon Ryan has left the meeting because he misses the point. We can get a premium price. We have done and are doing so in the light lamb market. I emphasise that beef produced from the suckler cow herd has the potential to be moved higher up the chain. That is at what we need to look.

I am aware that the processors have, rightly, taken a bashing today. They have stepped back and are expecting the European Union and Ireland to handle the issue of Brexit. The focus of a lot of them seems to be more on the United Kingdom than on Ireland. That is definitely a factor. I hope this will be put to their representatives when they appear before the committee next week. It is important that it be put to them.

Deputy Martin Kenny touched on the 30-month age rule. We believe it should go. The Chairman made an interesting comment on it, but it applies to just some of the market. Senator Conway-Walsh spoke about the four-movement rule. I do not know why it was introduced. There is no logic to keeping it at this point. We can get caught up in why it was introduced, but let us get rid of it as there is no reason to keep it. It is definitely being used to deflate the price of cattle, especially at the marts. Both the 30-month rule and the four-movement rule are being used against farmers who are seeking to move cattle on.

Deputy Corcoran Kennedy asked about two specific points made by the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, one of which was related to feedlots. They are definitely impacting on price, a fact on which everyone here has concurred. They are being used to manage and deflate prices. The Houses of the Oireachtas have the option of bringing forward legislation to stop re-processors from having feedlots. It is that simple. I am fairly confident that herd numbers could be used in that regard. Obviously, whoever is buying cattle needs the herd numbers. This issue needs to be looked at. It would be a concrete message sent from here.

On agri-forestry, it is the INHFA's view that if there is expansion, wherever it happens on a farm, and there is an increase in carbon emissions, it is not fair that some areas in the State will be expected to carry the can. If there is to be a hit, each farm should carry the can. It should be based on the farm of origin, not as we mentioned-----