Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the motion. It is not just now that the beef sector is on its knees; it has been on its knees for a few years. An animal killed in England two or three years ago was making €150 to €200 more because of a cartel in existence here. The Minister needs to tackle the feedlots. In the past few months, 70% of cattle were wheeled out to ensure that the cattle the farmer was bringing to the factory were held at bay. Some 10,000 more cattle were killed last year for the same weights. Unless we put manners on the factory feedlot system, we are going nowhere. Once we go over a kill of 30,000 a week, the farmer's trousers are basically pulled down because the factories will use him or her.

Other Deputies spoke about the 70-day rule. If cattle come from a Bord Bia-approved farm and go to another one, the 70-day rule should not apply.

We have no say on Mercosur but we have to boycott extra beef trying to come into the country.

On beef genomics, we are now breeding cattle that are not the same frame and we are losing some live exports. Bord Bia needs to get involved with the live exporters. There is a major opportunity there. The Government also needs to get involved in lairage facilities.

The Government also needs to do something about this vegan advertising campaign in cities - whoever is funding it - trying to put people off beef when the best medical evidence is that people should eat a certain amount of it. In my opinion what the Taoiseach came out with in this regard is disgraceful.

We need to put a foot under the family farms. Every day we see more small farmers going. If the new CAP does not front-load the payments for the small farmer, if the family farm is not protected which the Minister does not seem to be worried about, we can say goodbye to 300,000 jobs in the country. Does the Minister want what the Brits are trying to do at the moment? Does he want landlordism back in Ireland and drive the people into the cities or does he want to get up and work with people to ensure they get the opportunity to live and work in the areas they come from and, above all, to be able to make a living from the farm as they could down through the years? They are leaving farming day by day. The statistics show what is going on. The reason is that the Government is making sure the big guy is looked after while the small fellow is kicked around the place.

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