Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to share time with Deputies Charlie McConalogue, Michael Moynihan and Barry Cowen. I commend Deputy Ó Cuív on tabling this motion. It is important to discuss this issue, something we do not discuss frequently enough. Many people referred to the problems of the price of beef in many European countries. I was interested in analysis by The Farming Independent last April. It shows that Irish beef producers have experienced price declines up to six times greater than their European Union counterparts. This is a worrying analysis and prompted the IFA livestock chairman to say that the Minister should remember he is the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and not the Minister for factories. There was a feeling that he was defending factories, which all Members agree do not need defending. It is a major credibility issue for the Minister if he underestimates the level of frustration and anger at farm level. I support what the IFA said about continually pressing Bord Bia, the Minister and the Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, Michelle O'Neill, to insist that Irish cattle are not blocked from markets. I welcome every effort to find markets but there are artificial and anti-competitive barriers that should be removed.

I also support the call of Deputy Ó Cuív for a regulator to ensure farmers get a fair price for beef and to ensure they are not taken advantage of or used by pawns in a big business cartel, which is what happens. We must have a regulator backed by real powers of investigation to redress the imbalance. The heart of rural Ireland is being damaged by the crisis and there is not a level playing field between producers and processors. Every document produced by the farming organisations makes clear that the average family farm income is very low. The figure last year was €21,400 compared to the average industrial earnings of €32,000. With the livestock industry worth €2 billion to the economy, we must be careful that we support the industry in every way.

The collapse in beef prices is having a negative effect on the livelihoods of all beef producers. There has been a collapse in the bull beef price over the past 12 months and factories have changed the age and weight specifications required to slaughter cattle. The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, stated that little over one quarter of all Irish cattle slaughtered in Irish beef export plants are paid a quality assurance bonus despite the fact that 87% of farmers are quality assured, leaving one quarter getting the bonus and three quarters not receiving it. We must push continually for the live export trade, which is particularly important in the west of Ireland, as a good alternative to any monopoly set up by the factories. We should also make every effort to maintain contact with the Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government in respect of finding new markets.

The price of beef has fallen in the past 12 months and, given issues concerning over-age cattle and heavier store cattle, it is important to examine every area of the country. I make a particular case for the west. The president of the ICSA quoted a Teagasc national farm survey from 2013 showing a 22% collapse in suckler incomes and a 39% reduction in sheep incomes. In such situations, farmers earn less than they would receive on social welfare payment so we must consider the issues of smallholders. There was a beef open day on Wednesday, to which the Minister of State referred, and Teagasc talked about the most efficient high-performance suckler farms making only €4,000 per year on a 70 cow, 100 acre unit. If bigger, more efficient farmers are not making money, it is unbelievable to think what smaller producers are doing. In light of these figures and the fact that direct supports to farmers are declining, it is baffling that anyone could say this is a good time to be in farming. In conclusion, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, talked about cattle sales falling by €106 million as beef prices continue to slide. It is particularly concerned on that issue.

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