Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate about beef prices. Beef farmers are facing a crisis because of the prices they are getting for their cattle and their stock. I agree with what Deputies McNamara and Martin Ferris had to say about the issues in the beef sector. There is no doubt that the beef market in this State is controlled by a small number of processors who manipulate and control the prices that farmers can achieve for their stock when they take it to the mart. That is the crux of the problem for the beef sector in this country. The average income of beef farmers is between €12,000 and €13,000 per annum. It is not viable for them. They are struggling. Farmers along the west coast, particularly in County Donegal, are depending on this sector.

There are just three operators in the processing sector. This is what they do. Their natural tendency is to maximise their profits. They do this by manipulating prices. That is what they set out to do and that is what they do. The problem, unfortunately, is that this activity is not policed in this State. I recognise that live exports have increased. I looked at the Bord Bia figures today. The Minister mentioned that there has been increase of 15%, but I suggest we should set a target of achieving an increase of 30% or 50%. That would provide the competition in the marts that we are all talking about. If the processors have to compete, they will end up paying a living, reasonable price for the stock they buy from farmers.

Over the past 15 or 20 years, hundreds of small abattoirs had to close after increased regulations and standards were forced on them. When they were forced out of the market, it took many people who would have been buying cattle at marts out of the marts and out of the cattle-purchasing sector. That is one example of how the processors have managed to get rid of competition. Competition was further diminished when live exports were reduced. The processors have all the control. While I accept the Minister set up the beef forum, I suggest it merely involved politely asking the processors to do something to improve the way they deal with farmers and to increase their prices. It had no teeth. The Minister must have some teeth if he is to enforce the requirement on the processors to act reasonably and responsibly.

I do not believe the multiples play a huge part in Ireland in terms of the prices that farmers can get. We export 90% of what we produce through the factories. If the multiples here were paying better prices, it would not trickle down because it would involve no more than 10% of the stock that goes through processors. The big problem is the control the factories exert on the market in this country.

We need to think about to where this leads back. I read an article today tracing the genesis of the crisis in the beef sector back to last year's horsemeat scandal. The rationale for the article was that the supermarkets and multiples in England started to put pressure on processors to ensure they stuck rigidly to certain specifications. The processors then used those specifications to push down the prices at the marts. What has happened in the Department in the period since the horsemeat crisis threatened our beef sector? Has there been any follow-up on the horsemeat crisis? Are there any prosecutions outstanding? Is anything happening that will force the processors to act responsibly in the future? That is the kind of pressure we need to put on them if we are to ensure they behave responsibly.

We should ask the Competition Authority to examine the operation of this country's beef sector, with a particular focus on processing. If we are to address this issue, we must look seriously at the competition aspect of it. I saw a quote from the Minister today to the effect that the Competition Authority has suggested that the beef sector is very competitive. When I went through the Competition Authority's website, I could not find any reference to the investigation of the beef sector. I did not see any evidence of an outcome of an investigation containing a finding that the sector is competitive. The Minister should be asking the Competition Authority to assess the level of competition in the beef sector. He also needs to increase live exports and ensure processors have to pay reasonable prices for their produce.

See this speech in context