Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. Another reason I am asking this is because of the present situation with beef and the feedlots. We have been talking about poultry up to now, but the feedlots, which are mostly owned by factory owners and processors, have an advantage in that they buy off the farmer and can upset the market by having all these cattle in reserve, which they can use to fix prices if they want to because they have the cattle to do it and can supply their own beef. Would this VAT thing that we are talking about have an implication for that sector, if it is not changed, by giving an advantage to processors, in particular? That is really what I want to get at, that this could be giving beef processors an advantage against an ordinary farmer who is trying to fatten cattle, like I do myself, and trying to supply from hoof to factory. These processors could have an advantage through this VAT thing. That is what I want to ask the witnesses. Are these processors at an advantage there, and should the loophole be closed if they are?