Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Animals aged over 30 months cannot be used for T-bone steak. This is a significant cut-off point for factories. Does the Minister think it is possible to increase that to 36 months? The specific risk material regulation had been at 24 months, but in years gone by it was 36 months until the problems arose.

There is a very good completed database for all beef animals in Ireland, which is controlled by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and provides all details of herd profile. Do the factories have access to that database? If so, it explains how easy it is for them to manipulate the market price. Sometimes that gives them too much information and they are able to take advantage of the farmers, knowing when the heifers were born and how many are coming to the 30 month point.

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