Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Given that we export almost 90% of everything we produce into these other markets, we cannot force prices up in Ireland, which would mean the countries into which we sell at present simply would stop buying from us. There are issues in this regard but producer organisations do work in many cases. There are examples within the fruit and vegetable sectors in Ireland in which producers have been put under a lot of pressure but if the Deputy considers the mushroom business in Ireland, Monaghan Mushrooms is the largest producer of mushrooms in the world.

It is part of a very successful producer organisation structure, which has helped to build that infrastructure. In most other European countries, there are strong producer organisations representing primary producers and negotiating on their behalf very professionally. That is the type of structure we need in the beef industry.

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