Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In responding to the previous Topical Issue, Minister discussed the precarious existence of fishermen. I take this opportunity to draw attention to the increasingly precarious existence of Irish farmers due to prices. The volatility of milk prices has been well ventilated but we are also seeing great volatility in beef prices, particularly bull beef prices. I discussed this issue over the weekend with Deputy Ann Phelan, who wanted to partake in the present discussion but unfortunately had to attend another meeting.

I understand the Minister recently met representatives of the IFA to discuss this issue. As he will be aware, the price for bull beef has fallen by €150 to €250 per head since feeding started this year. This is now beginning to have an impact on beef prices more generally. The number of livestock killed per week currently stands at approximately 31,000, and we are edging towards the targets set out in Food Harvest 2020, but two years ago when the targets were being set, farmers did their part by retaining bulls, including Friesian bulls, and meeting the cost of feeding them. They are now paying the price, however, because they are losing money on every head of livestock they hold. This calls into question some of the general targets in Food Harvest 2020. If the result of increasing our beef kill to 31,000 per week is a fall in prices, farmers will be worse off as a result of ramping up production.

I should point out that I am a farmer. I finish cattle, although I am not a winter finisher. The prices obtained in September for cattle finished on grass were higher than the prices beef farmers are now getting for finished steers. As the Minister will be aware, the cost of finishing cattle in the winter is much higher. Farmers are taking losses on cattle they are finishing. I realise there are no easy answers to this problem. The factories will say there is no market for all of the bull beef produced, but farmers were encouraged to finish these bulls. If there is no market, it raises the question of why they were encouraged to finish them. Over time greater efforts will be needed to find markets for these bulls, but in the short term I encourage the Minister to call a meeting of producers, the IFA and the factories to see what can be done to ensure the ongoing viability of the beef sector. Farmers took losses across the board last year. We had an excellent summer but last winter was difficult. Farmers cannot take another winter of losses without the beef sector being damaged.

See this speech in context