Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have absolutely no doubt that the standards that are being used here in the inspections comply with EU law. That is not my question. I am seeking to ensure the standards that are put in place are accompanied by a level of inspection that will protect the farmers who are supplying cattle to these plants. That is what I am looking for. Daily inspection reports are carried out in the UK. The faults and inaccuracies are recorded and are available for inspection. In this country, a compliance report is done once a week by the manufacturer of the machine. These miscalculations are not recorded on such reports. I mentioned an example in which a farmer could lose out on €139.60, which is the difference between putting bread and butter on the table and not being able to do so. Beef farmers have their backs to the wall at the moment. We need to look at how we can protect them and not just at how we can comply with EU law.

Twelve months ago, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine supervised a trial of new grading technology. Better cameras and other forms of technology were used to provide more accurate grading. In this week's Farming Independent, Martin Coughlan points out that the current grading machines underscore both R and U grades.

In the two years after the introduction of mechanical grading in 2004, the number of R grades reduced significantly, by a sixth. It is now 14 years since those machines were introduced, which happened three years before the iPhone first came on the market in 2007. The machines are outdated and obsolete. I believe we are undergrading cattle and taking money out of the pockets of hard pressed suckler farmers. These machines need to be replaced immediately.

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