Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The talks process involved a large number of farm organisations and representatives of the meat industry, which was represented by Meat Industry Ireland, MII, in the negotiations which were brokered by myself and Department officials. C&D Foods was not a party to those negotiations, and that is the simple fact of the matter. We been assured by MII that all of the injunctions to which its constituent members are a party have been, or are in the process of being, stood down, and it is very anxious that this is acknowledged as the situation. We did not negotiate an agreement with C&D Foods and there are no farmers selling cattle to C&D Foods. Therefore, to expect that the agreement between the farm representatives and MII can have a reach beyond those represented in the room is not reasonable by any stretch of the imagination. I would like it if we had a situation where those were stood down. However, the pursuit of that has to be within acceptable norms of engagement, and not with the kind of intimidatory tactics that were adopted outside the Department yesterday, which I do not think anybody in this Chamber would condone.

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