Johnny Brady (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies Callanan, Grealish and Michael Moynihan. Beef production is extremely valuable to the economy. It has an export value of €1.4 billion, representing approximately 25% of total agri-food exports. Irish beef is a highly competitive product with more than 90% of production exported to the EU and other countries.

Under the CAP decoupling arrangements for direct payments, for the first time in many decades farmers can focus more clearly on the market-related elements of their income, confident that the single payment will provide an ensured income stream. We will enter this new era from a good base. Our well-developed cattle identification and traceability system, coupled with our highly advanced animal health and welfare veterinary controls ensure we have a safe product from a critical human health perspective.

I am also confident that after decades of research and genetic improvements we have breeding stock, technologies and policies from which we can produce the best quality beef. We can do so using modern and efficient farm management practices. This new environment will create a significant incentive for quality production with the producer processor relationship as the key. This will require greater emphasis on cattle prices for farmers being related to quality and integrated supply and purchasing systems, thus satisfying high quality premium market opportunities.

The future well-being of the beef industry will be directly dependent on the returns farmers can generate from the market. In recent years most of our beef exports have gone to the high value UK and EU markets and that trend continued this year. EU consumption is predicted to outstrip production in 2005, with a resulting import gap of approximately 280,000 tonnes for the year. This will provide opportunities for our beef exports in high value continental EU markets. In the past three or four years, the focus of the Irish beef industry has been to broaden and expand its market research at EU retail level, where higher prices are available. This has coincided with reduced dependence on EU support measures such as intervention and export refunds.

This year's Bord Bia European autumn promotion of identified Irish beef, carried out in conjunction with EU retailers and Irish suppliers, is well under way and is an excellent and sophisticated campaign. Initial feedback is encouraging in terms of improved demand in response to the promotion. It is hoped we can further strengthen the position of Irish beef in the European marketplace as a result.

Despite our success in Europe, non-EU markets will always form part of our outlets for Irish beef, taking certain cuts at particular times of the year, especially during our peak throughput in the autumn. With the assistance of our embassies abroad and Bord Bia, the Government will continue to press hard for the reopening of all of our traditional third country markets. The Russian market has performed well since agreement was reached on the EU veterinary certificate for exports last year. The re-opening of the Algerian market was also announced last October and a steady trade has developed.

Positive developments have also occurred in the Egyptian market, following intensive efforts over a prolonged period. Department of Agriculture and Food and Bord Bia officials visited Egypt earlier this year and succeeded in reaching agreement with the Egyptian Government in August on a new and much improved veterinary protocol for the export of Irish beef to that destination. Trade will be further underpinned by the retention of a special export refund for Egypt which has been negotiated with the EU Commission. Production has already commenced for one contract and it is expected that trade will gradually increase during the coming months.

Last week I was honoured to accompany the Minister for Agriculture and Food to meet the Egyptian Foreign Minister. I am confident the negotiations and discussions that took place signify an encouraging outlook for the Egyptian market. I am confident that Ireland's high animal health status and food safety standards will pave the way for increasing access for Irish beef to world markets.

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