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

The difficulty is that the agenda here is to shoehorn as much beef as possible into the PGI status application. As the Minister knows, the former Commissioner, Phil Hogan, said that we should be seeking designation specifically for suckler beef. When I raised this with the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Creed, in the House last October, he said that the concept of suckler beef does not have a high degree of resonance. However, across a range of food products, including dairy, there is resonance in relation to grass-fed production. The Minister is saying here that he will take into account the market research by Bord Bia but that body has let down the suckler industry in this country. Bord Bia has not promoted Irish suckler beef. It will to continue undermine it and put the money back into the hands of the processing industry unless the Minister stands with, and defends, the suckler producers. He must put a PGI programme in place specifically for the suckler industry.

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