Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

People Before Profit welcomes this timely motion tabled by the Rural Independent Group. One section of the motion in particular is most welcome, specifically, "that small farmers and factory workers are being exploited by some Irish beef processors; and that beef producers are routinely penalised by processors through the targeted operation of stealth and opaque price fixing practices".

The lessons of Covid in particular have highlighted the extreme exploitation and failings in many areas of society.

The failings in the meat plants are among the most acute, as is evident from the conditions of the workforce of the meat industry. There is a striking contrast between the enormous profits of corporate beef processors, such as Larry Goodman, who has been mentioned, and the earnings of the small farmers who supply them and the salaries of the workers in the factories. The inability of the State at all levels to protect the workers during Covid was raised here last year by us but our concerns were dismissed as if it were some kind of treason to question the meat industry. One of the former Ministers for Agriculture, Food and the Marine really chastised us for questioning the sector.

In one factory alone, 60 out of the 100 workers who tested positive for Covid had contracted the virus because they worked in a chilled air environment in which air was recycled to keep the food cool. It was argued that such conditions are unavoidable within meat plants but we have seen recent evidence from architect Orla Hegarty that while it is necessary to chill the air, it does not need to be recycled. The levels of infection were so high because the air was being recycled. It was a cheaper way to maintain the temperature in the factories. It is all about costs and cost-cutting. That is what drives the companies’ profits, and the profits drive up the rate of infection. The refusal to grant sick pay was driven by the need for profit. The refusal to give a decent and fair price to farmers at the gate is driven by the same desire for profits. Furthermore, State policy in this area, namely Pathways for Growth and Food Harvest 2020, is all informed by the major processors and retailers, not the farmers. State policy is designed according to the business interests of the big processors and retailers, not the interests of farmers. This creates an environment allowing anti-competitive practices. We saw recently how Larry Goodman has bought up even more of the smaller meat producers.

We cannot have a sustainable agriculture sector dominated by these corporate companies and we cannot have a response to climate change that allows this dominance to continue. We cannot sustain rural Ireland or rural farming communities with this model, which grants to some massive and largely tax-free profits but leaves farmers struggling and workers sick. In addition to needing a regulator with a strong input, we need strong unions. We need unions in the factories that will stand up against the gross exploitation of the workers, insist on proper, safe conditions and appropriate pay, and address the outstanding issue of making sick pay available to all workers. Together, workers and farmers have the same interest in releasing the grip of the corporate giants in the industry over their livelihoods. Together, they can work towards a just transition to complement climate mitigation.

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