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

None of that should happen because factories do not have access to the database. If they get access to it they are doing so in ways that they should not, whether from a vet in the factory, or whatever. Factories should not have access to a database that gives them information about the numbers of animals that farmers in their region have to sell, and so on.

We have put systems in place to make sure they do not get access to that information. I have heard that accusation on a number of occasions over the past six months. We have checked it out in some detail. We are ensuring the broader database to which the Department must have access, relating to animal movements and numbers, etc., is not handed over. Factories are not entitled to this commercially sensitive information.

We sell into a number of premium markets that have age restrictions as part of their specifications. Other markets do not have such restrictions. Some markets have weight restrictions as well. British retailers, which comprise the highest paying market for beef in the world at the moment, want beef steaks that are smaller than those being sold by some Irish producers that are producing really good animals. When there is a lot of beef around the market, as there has been this year, the premium markets that are paying the most for that beef can choose to demand certain specifications. That has been one of the most significant problems over the past 12 months, particularly for producers of large continental animals of a certain age. They got very good money for animals of that age last year, but they are being penalised for animals of the same age this year. That is why there needs to be a much better line of communication between factories and primary producers. I hope the producer organisations will help to facilitate that.

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