James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Tóibín for bringing this Bill forward and for his passionate contribution to the debate. I have listened with interest to his setting out of his stall and I have taken careful note of what he has said.

We can all agree that farmers should receive a fair and equitable price for their produce. The programme for Government recognises the economic and social role of agriculture as our most important indigenous industry in promoting balanced regional development. The Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the incomes and livelihoods of family farms, of which approximately 55% are engaged in specialist beef production. The Government is working consistently to support the beef sector and improve animal health and welfare standards.

The proposed legislation seeks to involve the Minister in what are currently private commercial matters. The proposed legislation contains measures that are likely to have unintended consequences and would be detrimental to the sector. For this reason, the Government cannot support the Bill.

Much has happened since the Bill was first tabled in 2020. This Government has a strong record in general in delivering for the agrifood sector and beef farmers. The Government has provided €9.8 billion for the current CAP period, which is the highest ever invested by an Irish Government in the sector. In addition, we have provided the highest ever direct supports for the beef sector and have pursued a policy objective towards improving the farmer’s position in the supply chain. This Government has also provided an unprecedented level of direct supports for beef farmers. Under the current CAP strategic programme, CSP, the suckler carbon efficiency programme is worth €256 million to suckler farmers. This targeted support is, of course, in addition to the other supports for suckler farmers under the CSP, such as the ACRE scheme, the organic farming scheme and the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS. Regarding the CSP supports, Minster McConalogue has provided additional exchequer funding for the sector again this year. The increased allocation he secured for his Department in budget 2025 will enable him to provide: an additional payment of €25 per calf under the beef welfare scheme, which will increase the payment per calf to €75; and an extra €20 payment per calf for a dairy beef measure. The allocation of this funding will be agreed in consultation with the farm organisations in due course. The scheme allocations build on the significant sectoral supports the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has put in place since his appointment four years ago.

In the period 2020-22 alone, a total of €268 million was paid to farmers under targeted national and CAP beef schemes. Last year, participants in three beef schemes throughout the country received over €76 million in payments. The Government has increased targeted supports to the beef sector in successive years through the suckler carbon efficiency programme and the annual beef welfare scheme. As a result of budget 2025, suckler farmers participating in those schemes will receive an increased payment of €225 per cow and calf pair, compared to €200 for each eligible pair this year. That is the highest level ever.

Looking at the wider policy environment, the Government has also supported a number of key initiatives which are aimed at improving the economic and environmental efficiency of beef farmers. The dairy calf to beef action plan involves a collaborative effort between Teagasc, Bord Bia, Animal Health Ireland, the Irish Cattle and Breeding Federation and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Its objective is to ensure the improved quality of calves from the dairy herd and provide an attractive business option for beef farmers. Significant progress has already been made on many actions. These include the launch in March of the CSP dairy beef welfare scheme to incentivise the use of high dairy beef index genetics and the display on most mart boards of the commercial beef value of calves destined for beef production.

I want say a few words about the Government's flagship investment in improving the genetic merit of beef sires in the national herd. In addition to the SCEP and the CSP dairy beef welfare schemes, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, launched the national bovine genotyping programme in 2023. This innovative programme is for a five-year period and is open to beef and dairy herd owners. Funding for the first year of the programme was €10.7 million and was provided by the Department. The total estimated cost of €15 million for each subsequent year will be funded using a strategic public-private cost sharing model between the Department, industry, including milk and dairy producers, and participating farmers. The Government has committed €5 million per year over that period. The programme is administered on behalf of the Department by the ICBF. This innovative programme represents a significant step towards our ambition for Ireland to be the first country in the world to genotype the entire national bovine herd. The genotyping programme is already facilitating tangible benefits in terms of breeding decisions, which will have a knock-on benefit for climate action, animal health and productivity at farm level. Genotyped weanlings and store cattle that are being traded through marts have their commercial beef value displayed on mart screens. That value provides farmers with essential information on the genetic value of calves. This is critical information for calf rearers in purchasing animals and for dairy farmers to receive feedback on their breeding decisions.

I refer to An Rialálaí Agraibhia, the Agri-Food Regulator. The programme for Government contained a commitment to ensure fairness, equity and transparency in the agri-food supply chain by establishing a new authority to enforce EU-wide rules on prohibited unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and to have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. Delivering on that commitment, An Rialálaí Agraibhia, the Agri-Food Regulator, an independent statutory body, was established in December 2023 for that purpose. The regulatory body has two functions: an enforcement function in regard to unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain; and a price and market analysis function, aimed at ensuring more transparency and fairness throughout the agri-food supply chain, with a view to strengthening the position of smaller suppliers against larger buyers with greater bargaining power. At present, the regulator is dealing with three ongoing complaints regarding unfair trading practices. It has also carried out a number of on-site compliance inspections using legislative powers available under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023. These inspections ensure that trading practices and any mechanisms to address deficiencies in a business are compliant with the 2023 legislation and associated regulations. Greater transparency will be achieved by regularly publishing reports on price and market data, as well as preparing and publishing reports on contingency issues, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The increased availability of information at all stages of the agri-food supply chain will contribute to better decision making by small food suppliers and a greater understanding for all stakeholders of challenges faced by businesses along the supply chain. The first price and market analysis reports on the Irish table egg sector was published recently on the regulator’s website. While the regulator has an important role in ensuring greater transparency, it cannot and does not set prices.

Turning to the proposed legislation, it is important to note that Ireland is almost 700% self-sufficient in beef production at present. In 2023, around 92% of domestically slaughtered beef was exported. Last year, Ireland exported 484,000 metric tonnes of beef, worth almost €3 billion to more than 65 markets globally. Irish beef prices are influenced not just by demand and supply dynamics in the domestic market, but also by conditions in the main export destinations, primarily the UK and EU. Legislating as proposed in this Bill would serve to distort the market and reduce Ireland’s overall competitiveness in the sector, as it fails to account for the degree of dependence on international trade and the potential impact of product substitution. Lower demand in export markets, which account for the vast majority of sector value, is likely to arise due to different demand curves at home and abroad, in particular for Irish beef. Even on the domestic food market, retailers, distributors and the food service sector would be incentivised to source their supplies from elsewhere. Thus, the measures proposed could paradoxically have the effect of reducing sales from Irish farms, resulting in industry contraction and the gradual erosion of demand from the processing sector. This proposed legislation is unlikely to meet the EU legal test for a justified and proportionate restriction on trade and would serve to distort the market and reduce Ireland’s overall competitiveness in the sector.

Regarding bonus payments, the Bill refers to a 30-month rule. Let me be clear; there is no rule limiting the age of cattle for beef production. However, meat processors do make bonus payments in respect of cattle which meet certain market specifications. The Bill also seeks to determine the nature of bonuses for animals over or under 30 months. This is entirely a commercial matter and not a condition imposed by the Department. The payment of a bonus is a commercial matter between the processors and the primary producers.

Irish beef is a unique product that is well suited to many markets because it meets global consumers’ expectations for high quality and safe food. Its quality and unique production systems were recognised last year when Irish grass fed beef was awarded protected geographical indication, PGI, status by the European Commission. This all-island PGI status was achieved through a collaborative effort involving beef stakeholders from North and South over several years. Promoting our outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce to the world is an essential part of the process. Bord Bia plays an important role in supporting and enabling primary producers and processors to continually meet those expectations. Targeted trade missions to maintain and expand existing markets as well as developing new opportunities provide a valuable outlet for our world-class products. Considered collectively, the Government has done more to support the beef sector than this Bill claims to achieve. In summary, the proposed legislation would not achieve its stated objectives and cannot be supported by the Government.

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