Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine on holding a beef summit, which took place on the day the Dáil went into recess for Easter. While I welcome that it was held, I am afraid I cannot welcome the results of the summit, which have been very disappointing. In the two weeks since the summit was held, beef prices have barely increased. O3 steers increased by 0.3% in the first week and last week only increased by one cent per kg. With regard to R class, there was no change in the first week and there was a very minor change of 0.8% from €3.75 per kg up to €3.78 last week.

The biggest problem facing agriculture in the country is that many farmers have significant numbers of young bulls on their hands largely because the beef factories encouraged farmers to accumulate them. Again, the prices have increased by 0.6% in the first week and 1.7% in the second week. However, at the moment the price for R-class animals is €3.55 per kg, whereas last year it was €4.11 per kg. Farmers are facing considerable losses.

When addressing the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine recently, Mr. Paddy Gernon of the Irish Cattle Exporters Association outlined that there is a market for those young bulls in Libya and other places but said he could not get boats to take them there because of the licensing regime that pertains in this State. I tabled a parliamentary question asking how many boats were licensed to take cattle to Libya and the Minister very proudly told me that there were two boats and that Ireland operates the strictest regime in Europe for the live export of animals. I was told that EU Council regulation No. 1/2005 on animal transport provides for stricter rules to be applied by member states than those set down at EU level. While that is true, that regulation also requires the adoption of rules in the field of transport of animals in order to eliminate technical barriers to trade in live animals and to allow market organisations to operate smoothly. The Department seems to have entirely forgotten that objective of the regulation, because the only organisation that can classify boats as being fit is the International Association of Classification Societies. That is an extremely restrictive practice not operated by any other state. I find it hard to believe that states such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Sweden do not take animal rights seriously and that we are the only state that does. I question why we make it so hard to send cattle outside the State and particularly to third countries such as those in north Africa when Bord Bia advises that there is a market there. The Irish Cattle Exporters Association has advised there is a market there but its members cannot get the boats.

Another worrying development is the number of feeding lots being taken up by processors. Last week the Limerick executive of the IFA passed a motion calling for any farmer who gives his or her feeding lots over to processors to fill to be expelled from the IFA. The number of feeding lots that processors are taking up, particularly in Munster, enables them to manipulate the market at will. If prices start to rise - clearly they have not risen in any way since the summit - they can release thousands of cattle into the market to drive the prices down. At the moment we have a very serious issue with regard to our livestock and increasingly have competition issues. I want to know what the Department is going to do about it.

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