Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. As he well knows, the reason we have such a crisis in the beef sector, which led to the protests and pickets over the summer, is the fact that for months, and indeed over recent years, farmers have been consistently losing money, and it is simply not sustainable. Coming out of the negotiation process, the agreement was that the beef task force would help address some of the transparency issues in this regard. Alongside that, support from the Department and the European Commission through the Common Agricultural Policy is essential.

Regarding the beef task force, I find it unacceptable that the Minister did not make a clear effort, or more of an effort, to ensure that all injunctions were removed in advance of the start date yesterday. The least we could expect of him today is to call very clearly for all remaining injunctions to be removed. While C&D Foods may not be a member of Meat Industry Ireland, its owners certainly are, and the Minister himself indicated he has been talking to them. They are showing bad faith by not removing those injunctions, and the least we can expect is that they do so in order that the beef task force gets up and running.

Regarding the supports farmers need and additional funding through the CAP, the Minister referred in the response he gave us to beef exceptional aid measure, BEAM, and the beef environmental efficiency pilot, BEEP, neither of which has yet seen payments made to farmers. Will he give an assurance to us today that he will go to the European Commission to seek funding to support farmers for the losses they have experienced from May until now, a period during which losses have been heavier than in the previous period, which was covered by the beef exceptional aid measure?

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