Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I open the debate on the Government side, I do so, first, as the son of a suckler farmer in the midlands who has lived the experience that many of the Deputies speaking today say they are aware of. I grew up on a family farm that supported me in life and gave me the key opportunities to realise my ambition and supported me to do that. I have also experienced the late nights and long days of hard work and frustration on our family farm. Over the decades, through the 1990s right up to now, I have seen the many challenges and crises that have faced family farms. To this day, even though my father is well into his 80s, I volunteer to help him each week on our family farm. While many Deputies are aware of those experiences, I have lived them.

I wish the delegation, the Minister and his officials, the very best in the coming days in the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations. It is vital for our country that these negotiations are successful. I welcome the input that the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and their departmental officials have made and the dedication they have shown.

The Government is very aware of the challenges faced by the beef sector and the sector’s importance to our economy and society. To put the value of the sector in context, the Irish beef sector comprises more than 78,000 specialist cattle farms, generating €2.3 billion in output and representing 16% of total agrifood export value in 2020. This reflects the comparative advantage afforded to Irish beef production by extensive grassland coverage. Beef output also has a high multiplier effect of 2.5 in Ireland. The sector plays a significant role in rural development and provides major employment in regions where fewer alternative economic opportunities exist.

In recognition of this vital contribution the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine continually monitors the market situation for beef and other agrifood commodities. This allows the Department to identify severe market disturbance so that the Minister can respond as necessary and where possible. A good example of such a response was the €50 million provided for the beef finishers payment last year under the Covid-19 temporary state aid framework. The beef finishers payment provided support for beef finishing enterprises which were most affected by the market disturbance caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020.

On a wider level, the Department provides a range of financial aids to support beef farm incomes and to support economic and environmental efficiency. The core dedicated support for the beef sector under the outgoing rural development programme is the €300 million beef data and genomics programme, BDGP. In addition to this support, €200 million of additional supports were made available between 2019 and 2020 specifically for the beef sector. These included the beef exceptional aid measure and beef environmental efficiency pilot schemes in 2019 and the aforementioned beef finishers payment and the beef environmental efficiency programme, BEEP, scheme in 2020.

In budget 2021, €85 million was allocated to specific supports for sustainable beef farming. This includes over €40 million for the extension of the BDGP during the transition period before the next CAP and €45 million for the 2021 beef sector efficiency pilot that was launched earlier this year. Work is under way on the development of supports for the sector under the next CAP which will be aimed at further supporting the economic, environmental and social sustainability of beef farms in Ireland.

A key commitment in the programme for Government is the establishment of a new authority expected to be called the national food ombudsman to enforce the unfair trading practices directive. Pursuant to that commitment, the process for the establishment of the national food ombudsman is under way. A public consultation process will inform the Government’s consideration of the remit and powers to be assigned to that office.

In April, the Minister signed Statutory Instrument No. 18 of 2021, which sets out the regulations to give effect in Irish law to EU Directive No. 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. These regulations will come into effect from 1 July 2021 and will apply to agreements for the supply of agrifood products. One of the key principles of the unfair trading practices directive is to protect farmers and other, weaker suppliers of agricultural and food products from stronger buyers. These regulations will help to provide that protection and are a significant step in moving to a more even playing field for our agricultural producers.

Pending the establishment of the new office, the enforcement authority required by the directive will operate in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The authority will have the necessary statutory powers to investigate complaints, carry out investigations on its own initiative and initiate legal proceedings for breaches of the unfair trading practices prohibited under the directive. The establishment of the new office will require primary legislation. When established, the new office, the remit of which will include the beef sector, will have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland, and will also incorporate the unfair trading practices enforcement authority functions. In addition to establishing the new office, the primary legislation may introduce rules that go beyond those included in the unfair trading practices directive.

A public consultation on the primary legislation needed to establish the new office of a national food ombudsman or regulator was launched late last month and closes today, 26 May. All submissions made under this process will be considered. The Government is committed to delivering an office that will bring much-needed transparency to the sector, and that will ultimately help both our farmers and consumers. The Government is also fully committed to ensuring fairness, equity and transparency in the agricultural and food supply chain.

I take this opportunity to restate the Government’s position on the acknowledged need to ensure that any negative impact the EU-Mercosur trade deal may have on the Irish beef sector is minimised. Ireland has consistently raised concerns about the negative impact that an agreement would have on the EU’s agriculture sector, particularly the beef sector. The Commission has stated that it will make funding available to assist farmers with the challenges of market disturbance which may arise as a result of the deal. The Commission has also engaged the London School of Economics to carry out a sustainability impact assessment on the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. This final report was published on 29 March last. In addition, the final economic and sustainability impact assessment for Ireland is due to be published shortly. We await this assessment with interest.

Portugal currently holds the EU Presidency. The Tánaiste has held discussions with his Portuguese counterpart in which he stated Ireland's insistence on additional, robust and legally enforceable commitments in respect of environmental compliance being added to the agreement.

These commitments on the climate change responsibilities of both parties should include a sanction regime for non-compliance with sustainable development goals responsibilities which could include removal of preferential tariff rate quotas, TRQs.

Regarding beef sold into the EU from non-EU markets, there is a legislative framework in place to ensure imported products meet standards equivalent to those required for production and trade between member states. Food products placed on the European marketplace are covered by a range of legislation designed to ensure products supplied to consumers are of the highest safety standards. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine plays a part in the enforcement of this legislation along with competent authorities in other member states, other Government Departments and State agencies such as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Health Service Executive.

The import of products of animal origin from third countries is governed by a comprehensive and robust legislative framework laid down at EU level, controlled by member states in the first instance and audited by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety to ensure compliance with all the relevant safety standards. The legislation imposes health and supervisory requirements designed to ensure imported products meet standards equivalent to those required for production between member states. This comprehensive and robust legislative framework and the checks carried out by the relevant competent authorities across EU member states ensure imports meet the requisite standards.

I acknowledge the sector has a major beneficial effect on the rural economy. I know that more than most, as I said at the start of my contribution, in particular in providing employment and supporting incomes in rural parts of Ireland. This is an issue the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has spoken about many times in the past and will continue to do so in supporting this sector. As I said, it is a key requirement and ambition of the Government to ensure the viability of our family farms. In working with the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, and others, I will do my utmost, having lived that experience, to ensure that comes to fruition.

See this speech in context