Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Beef Task Force: Discussion

Mr. Michael Dowling:

We set out the achievements in the document, which we sent in advance. The effective introduction of the new in-spec bonus system is one. The successful application for protected geographical indication, PGI, status is another. There is also the immediate written commitment by the industry on several points, including insurance schemes and carcase images; significant input into the application for PGI status, as I mentioned; the establishment of a group to oversee the development of a suckler brand propositioned by Bord Bia; the three substantial reports on market transparency, which add to the knowledge about the sector; and the work Bord Bia has done on improving its indices and creating a new index in respect of the comparison between the composite export price and the domestic price.