Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is fair to say there has always been a healthy distrust between the farmer and the factory. It has certainly not changed dramatically in the past few months. It is a problem which has been encountered before and it will be encountered again. The first thing to do when there is a problem is to acknowledge it. We must acknowledge that many people are under a great deal of pressure. For those looking in from the outside, the issue is to understand why there is such a problem. Anyone involved in calf-to-beef production, whether at 18, 22 or 24 months, puts a great deal of time and effort into getting an animal ready to bring to the factory. It involves great expense to get a product ready for a particular market and to find when one goes to the factory, which is one's payday, that the goalposts have suddenly been moved is not only massively frustrating, it also causes huge financial loss. The spec or carcass weight sought may have changed. We must acknowledge that there is a problem in that regard.

In acknowledging that there is a problem we must try to see two steps down the road to determine what may happen next. Our next big problem might arise in September and October. If one is going to the mart with weanlings in a couple of months time, what beef producer who was badly burned will turn up to take the plunge again? He or sh e is not going to do it. Unfortunately, that will lead to problems with the suckler cow herd. If it costs on average €700 to keep a cow, one will have already lost money unless a weanling can get a very good price in the factory that day. We must very careful and the factories must be clued in. One can burn the producers only so many times before they leave the industry altogether. One will then be left with a far greater problem. We are talking about quality product leaving the market altogether. We have a very good system for rearing and finishing cattle, but the entities within it who need to work together are not doing so. The producer and the factory have different aims, but they need each other, no matter how they look at it. The alternative is the live export market. I agree with Deputy John Paul Phelan completely. For many years we continued to welcome more markets opening, which is happening, but we need to see the cattle actually moving. We need to see cattle of different quality moving also. In a private industry where price is dominated by supply, if there is no supply, one will have to pay more. We must get this right quickly. We must understand matters could get a great deal worse if we are not careful.

I have no doubt that the Minister and the Minister of State acknowledge that there is a problem, but we must ensure it is fixed in the next number of months. If not, we will be back here not only having lost beef producers but also many suckler cow producers.

See this speech in context