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

I will do my best. On the beef issue, I accept that this sector has taken the immediate visible hit from Covid-19. There have been consequences due to the closure of food services, not just domestically but more significantly in the volume of food service restaurants and hotels globally and within the European Union. We have been insisting that the European Commission is reminded of the common aspect of the Common Agricultural Policy. In recent days, comments were made by the National Farmers Union, NFU, about UK retailers stocking Irish beef. Elsewhere, we have seen trends for the renationalisation of markets. We, and particularly our beef sector, would be the biggest losers within the European Union if that were to happen. It is critical that we maintain that approach across the European Union. That is why we have led an initiative at European Union level. Up to that point, its response had been that it would relax state aid rules and we could fix the problem ourselves. That is certainly something I was not happy with and there is now some movement on the issue. We need to see more, particularly under exceptional aid measures for the beef sector, and we continue to engage in that regard.

I would be cautious about raising expectations regarding a further unwinding of livestock mart regulations. We engage with them all the time. Over 70 out of 80-plus marts have submitted standard operating procedures, SOPs, which have been approved. We continue to engage but we will be guided by the public health advice on these matters. The revised arrangements are working reasonably well. Without reference to an auction system, I appreciate there is a difficulty in valuations, but we are-----

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