Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister is aware, the beef and suckler sector is in chaos again, with a drop in prices of up to 20 cent per kg in the past two weeks. It has led to a serious situation. I am calling on the Minister to commit to the setting up of an independent regulator for this sector, separate to the ombudsman. I know that when he was in opposition, the Minister called for an independent regulator and I stress to him that there is a need for it. Many of the agreements that were made on the beef task force are now being reneged upon by factories. It has come to my attention, for example, that there was an agreement that factories would confirm prices to farmers by text or email but they are not doing that. There was another agreement to put weighing scales into factories and that has not been done. It was also agreed that notice would be given to farmers of any changes to weight and that is not happening either.

It is evident that there is no honest trading in the supply chain and that there is not a sustainable model in terms of the meat factories and supermarkets. We need to come to grips with that because it is the reality and fact of the matter. We need to deal with that matter.

We are facing an unacceptable situation that constantly disadvantages farmers. It is leading to a situation where beef and suckler farmers are exiting the sector and opting for dairy. This will lead to animal welfare issues as calves will be abandoned by those beef farmers who are leaving the sector and going into dairy. The Minister needs to take this on board.

The only way forward is to put in place an independent regulator because the factories are not playing ball. At the end of the day, the producer who is producing high quality beef is not being treated fairly. I call on the Minister to resolve that issue.

We need legislation quickly for the horticulture sector. Ireland is the only country that I know of which is recklessly presiding over the loss of up to 17,600 jobs. We were supposed to have a just transition but that did not happen. We urgently need legislation to be brought in.

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