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

I and others totally disagree with the assessment of the Deputy. That is why everybody in the sector, including farming organisations, is willing to facilitate the introduction of producer organisations. The processing industry is willing to consider the proposal. It has no choice, because we are going ahead with it. The process is about increasing and improving farmer representation. It is true to say that there are three large players in the market, but there are many other processors. It is not true to say that only three processors are killing cattle. There are also live cattle exports, which have been used to introduce competition into the market for cattle. Such exports include cross-Border live cattle exports, as well as to places like north Africa and other parts of Europe. Live cattle exports increased significantly this year.

I do not accept the accuracy of the Deputy's assessment of the marketplace. Producer organisations work well in other countries which also have large processors. We should not forget that 90% of our beef has to find a home, consumer, buyer and client outside Ireland. To facilitate that trade, we need processors which have scale. The Competition Authority makes sure they are not abusing that position, but we can restructure the marketplace to increase the negotiating power of farmers through POs which will be owned by farmers. That is a good thing, and the Deputy should welcome it.

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