Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

As I said, I do not reject the idea or the prospect of the PGI status. I believe it is important. My point was to ask how does it benefit farmers. We still have not realised how that will happen. The core issue remains the industry is out to get as much profit as possible and continues to give low prices to farmers and treat workers poorly. This is facilitated by Government after Government and we have an opportunity to change now that we have new Ministers.

The scale of Covid-19 outbreaks in meat plants illustrated existing underlying issues in the sector before the pandemic. We were all aware of the unsustainably low prices and now we have a clearer picture of the horrendous conditions in which people are working. These two things are intrinsically linked and speak to how the industry treats people, both workers and farmers.

During the summer, the German agriculture minister pointed out that low prices do not fit with sustainability. She linked low prices with pressures on animal welfare, working conditions in meat processing plants and farmers' incomes. It is obvious there are clear parallels to be drawn here and they need to be addressed. To resolve the many issues and injustices in this sector, the Minister needs to tackle the power and privilege given to the meat processing sector and he needs to do it now.

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