Mr. Des Morrison:

Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned the grid. We were never in favour of it, and we have called for a complete review of the grid. It is simply not acceptable in this day and age, and ICMSA will not accept that the grid is doing justice to the farmers' animals, the farmers' grades, or the fat cover of the animals they are selling. It is taking money out of farmers' pockets.

Deputy Cahill went on to the fifth quarter. It is difficult to put a value on the fifth quarter, but it could become the most valuable quarter of the animal at this stage because a lot of the fifth quarters of animals are being exported. Neither the factory nor the processor pay any money for it, but it is built into the price of the animal, or that is the answer we get from processors. It has been a very valuable quarter of the animal and I think farmers should be getting paid for it.

On the issue of feed lots, they are clearly distorting the price of cattle. I am around long enough that I remember a time when, if factories were in short supply of cattle, they would ring up suppliers and ask them to have the cattle there for the kill at 7 a.m. on Monday morning, and they would get a few cent extra for their animals that way. That is no longer happening, because they are in control of it themselves. Our only help in regard to the cartel and the price of cattle at the moment are a couple of independents, and there is one in Senator Mulherin's town, which could be leading the way in cattle prices, but it is definitely not the big players. I thank the Chair; I told him I would be brief.