Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will put it very succinctly to the Minister. We need a beef regulator, we need the 30-day rule abolished and we need the four-movement rule abolished immediately. They make no sense whatsoever. I thank Deputy Carol Nolan and the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward the motion, which is crucial for the people I represent in Mayo.

Profits from small farms are passed on to local businesses, services, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, the construction industry and a myriad of supply companies and businesses which are all directly or indirectly beneficiaries of money generated on farms. Unfortunately, the supply chain is broken, fragmented and disconnected, and it suffers a serious lack of trust between many of the stakeholders. It undoubtedly needs attention.

We need an independent beef regulator with proper powers. The factory bonuses, the 30-month rule and the four-movement rule are designed, as Deputy Matt Carthy said, as penalties. For God’s sake, do not insult farmers’ intelligence by telling them they are bonuses. They are penalties. Why do we still have them in place? Who was asking for them to be put in place? Farmers do things that make sense to them. These rules make no sense whatsoever and the only beneficiaries are the factories and processors. The same factories are controlled by barons who operate under unlimited companies and there is an appalling lack of transparency that would not be tolerated anywhere else. What are they hiding, we have to ask.

Beef farming is in a constant battle for survival. These farmers face the constant threat of being the sacrificial lambs of the climate change Bill in the move to reduce stock numbers. The farmers are playing their part in addressing climate change and they are willing to play their part in the future. All they need is fair play. We are well-placed to produce the finest quality beef in the world, with exceptional environmental credentials, grass-fed and extensively grazed stock, as part of an agricultural ecosystem developed over thousands of years, mixing livestock and crops managed as family businesses in harmony with the environment, not the huge feedlots or monoculture that we observe in many parts of the world. However, I have a word of caution for the Government. A healthy ecosystem, a healthy environment, birds, fish, trees and wildlife will not guarantee the survival of the family farm. However, a healthy, profitable farm can guarantee the survival of a healthy ecosystem.

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