Mr. Fergal Byrne:

I was down in Camolin early this summer. We were brought through the factory. The producers' thinking is that lambs may come in at, let us say, 19 kg, 22 kg or 23 kg deadweight. A lamb weighing 19 kg or 20 kg will run through the system and no person will have to touch him. The computer will do the whole lot and he will be sliced up whatever way is wanted. It just flows through the system. A big lamb of 23 kg, let us say, which is the best lamb, has to be trimmed. That is where the problem is. The producers are saying they are losing out on it in that way. Any of the craft or other butchers throughout the country would want that other lamb. They hang the lamb and so forth and do all that with the lamb. There is a certain amount of fat but they trim it and do a perfect job. The reason in respect of the 20 kg or 20.5 kg lambs is that there is no trim or anything; it just runs through the system. Even at that, the producers should be able to give more for it. I still reckon they should give more.