Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The beef industry is in crisis. Farmers' returns are just not viable. We have raised this numerous times in recent months in the House. Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse on a weekly basis. Usually in the run-up to Christmas beef prices increase. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening at the back end of 2018. Cow prices, which are usually the barometer of the health of the beef business, are down one third since July. We have no live exports. As a result we have a kill that is at 40,000 head per week. It is clear we do not have the markets to sell the beef. Help is urgently needed if our beef industry is to survive. Farmers have had enough.

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