Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance today. MII's initial statement very much outlines the situation. As we know, there has been a fall of almost €2 per kilogram in the past 12 months, which has crippled finishers. We know that while the price of calves is still quite high, for heavier cattle going to kill, we have seen a drop of almost €400 in the price since the start of the year. We know all of this and the witnesses outlined that very well but how do we solve it and what is the best way we can deal with it? Up to now, the Bord Bia sign denoting grass-fed origin was always our unique selling point. Do we need to do more in terms of marketing?

I appreciate from looking at what the witnesses set out that demand for more expensive meat has gone down because the cost was so high. From a marketing point of view, is there anything we can do to counter that? Our beef industry is incredibly vulnerable given that 90% of beef is exported. Markets and the international economy are volatile so we are very much at the mercy of that. The witnesses mentioned the massive drop in our exports to the UK and how a lot of New Zealand beef is coming in there, which previously would not have been the case. The UK-New Zealand trade deal has obviously made things a lot easier but when you look at the like of Dawn Meats, which is a member of MII, you see that it has bought into Alliance, which is a big meat producer in New Zealand.

There is a lot of speculation and hearsay, although it is only hearsay, that the likes of Dawn Meats is using its Irish connections to feed New Zealand beef into what had been Irish contracts. That is commercial business; I get that. If that is happening, however, that is very difficult for us here. Dawn Meats falls under MII. I accept that Dawn Meats is providing a cheaper product and there is a cost-of-living crisis, etc., but how can we resolve that?

The UK and Brazil do not currently have a trade deal but there is speculation that something could happen. How would such a trade deal affect Ireland? As bad as things are, that kind of trade deal could crucify the exporting of Irish beef to the UK.

We have always had Brazilian beef coming into this country but since the EU's adoption of the Mercosur agreement we have not seen as great an influx as much as we thought we would. Earlier this month, the European Commission announced its decision regarding the non-compliance of Brazilian beef, as we knew and as we said, with EU regulations surrounding the use of antimicrobials and antibiotics. If Brazil is found to remain non-compliant with that by the stipulated date in September and if, therefore, its beef is excluded from Mercosur and banned from coming into the European Union,will that have an effect and will it be an opportunity for Ireland to take advantage?