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

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this debate. We need to bring about a situation where beef farmers have a fixed share of the price paid by supermarket customers for beef products. A lot of anger is being expressed by farmers around the country at the moment regarding cattle specifications and also the difference between the supermarket price and the factory gate price. We need to see transparency in this area. The price margins that are operating across the beef chain must be transparent and clear. A robust mechanism must be put in place to ensure that farmers get their fair share of the final retail price for their animals. The fact is that the further the animal goes from the farm gate, the less information is made available on price. That is why beef price transparency across the supply chain must be addressed in the context of securing a fixed but fair proportion of the final price for beef farmers.

The agreement between the meat industry and farm organisations that the Minister secured last weekend provides the basis for starting to rebalance power within the beef sector but we need to see movement on the base price for beef from the meat processors.

The fact is that there is a serious lack of trust among farmers, and there is a feeling that the base price will now be manipulated by meat processors to make up for concessions agreed in the talks at the weekend. This cannot be allowed to happen if there is to be a resolution to the dispute. We need to see a fair base price quoted by processors. While many are legitimately arguing that price cannot be discussed, there is no legitimate argument not to seek a secure margin for farmers, who are producing a premium product not just for the Irish market but also for the EU beef market.

Sean O'Rourke's interview earlier today with Mr. Cormac Healy of Meat Industry Ireland was very interesting. Mr. Healy stated that the industry is paying €3.60 per kilogram for R grade cattle, which is the base price reference. He pointed out that this price is currently the EU average but farmers on the ground across this country are being quoted only €3.45 per kilogram today for cattle of grade R3. This is 15 cent per kilogram less than what their representative said on national radio this morning was the EU average and what farmers should currently be getting. The fact is that we need a legal floor to be put in place for the base price for beef. Each week the EU publishes beef carcase prices. The EU average should be used as the benchmark regarding the base price quoted to farmers. This is the very first step needed in bringing about price transparency for cattle. At least farmers could then relate to it. I refer to where a black-and-white figure is provided on the return to the processors across Europe.

In light of the distinct lack of information on margins in the processing sector or the farmers' share of the carcase price received on EU markets by processors, including the volumes and values of specific cuts, there is now an urgent need for measures to be taken to provide beef price transparency right across the supply chain. As an interim measure, I suggest that the Minister ask his colleague the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to request the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, under section 10(4) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014, to carry out a market study on the nature and scale of consumer and beef farmer issues in the market and make recommendations, as appropriate. People are rightly critical of the commission in the House tonight but there are mechanisms by which it can be used to benefit farmers and consumers and bring about transparency in the beef sector in this country. I ask the Minister to ensure that the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, directs the commission to do something for Irish farmers instead of threatening them continually, as has been the case up to now.

My research clearly shows that, regardless of what share the farmer is getting for a carcase, in each of the past 15 years the farmers' share for beef produced has reduced by 1.7%. This cannot continue any longer. The tools exist to carry out an investigation. That investigation needs to start before the end of this week.

There is a need to consider innovative technology that could help to rebalance the farmers' share for the beef product. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine should immediately convene a cross-sector implementation group to establish a publicly owned and controlled national beef supply block chain which has the potential to transform the beef supply chain by reducing production costs and emissions and allowing the farmer to receive a premium return for beef while providing consumers with greater confidence in the beef they consume. If this does not happen, the processors will bring forward the block chain and increase the stranglehold they already have on the industry.

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